Salt Rings
by TheBaeTide
Summary: After an altercation between their sons, Rick and Michonne find themselves working together to help their boys understand each other, but they stumble into something darker that soon spirals out of control. Michonne is struggling to make the right decisions when it comes to her family while Rick can't stop himself from relentlessly pursuing a married woman. AU. No Walkers.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Just have to say that I was dying to upload this for months but I needed to hold back because I needed to lighten the load first. I was due to upload the sequel of Girls with Brown Eyes next but I trashed the file so I need to re-write it (but I'm working on getting that done ASAP. I hadn't written a dark fic since Wildflowers and I was desperate to do something else along the lines so if you choose to stick around for this one then expect angst, drama, tragedy and the works. Hope you enjoy!

 **Chapter One:**

The air in the principal's office was thick, in spite of the working air conditioner near the window. Rick put it down to all them rising tempers in the room, partly his own. If there was one place that he didn't wish to be, then it would be in Mrs. Monroes office. It meant that something had happened that was beyond a regular teachers intervention, and if he were to be completely honest with himself he would admit that he knew the day would come soon enough. He peered at his son from the corner of his eye and couldn't look away from his bloodstained lip. It only infuriated him more.

"...This has got to come to an end", Mrs. Monroe strained her broken voice. She had warned them that she was feeling under the weather before they even began their meeting but only minutes in and Rick was half expecting her to fall face down to her desk, "I think that both boys have behaved¬"

"Both? Excuse me, but why both?", Rick's eyes slid over to the woman sat a foot away from him, who was perched on the edge of her seat. Mrs. Anthony was no stranger to him; he'd seen her around plenty of times but they'd never spoken. She always seemed to be in a rush with her phone glued to her ear. She wore dark pantsuits in styles that Rick had never seen before and the one she wore that day was no different; black with a slim fit leg and a blazer that wrapped around her narrow waist like a blouse would. She looked like she meant business and barely blinked when she spoke, "This isn't just a case of two boys fooling around and getting out of hand, and I don't condone my son's behavior but he has been relentlessly bullied by this boy and his friends¬"

Rick sat up defensively while Carl immediately denied the claim, "I'm not bullying him¬ I'm not a bully¬"

"Hold on a minute", Rick raised his hand to stop Carl as he turned in his seat to face the angry women, "I don't appreciate you throwing that word around when it comes to my son, ma'am. In spite of everythan' that's happened between the two of them- I haven't said anything negative about him¬"

"Oh, you haven't?", She narrowed her chocolate brown eyes as she swiveled in her chair to look at him, "So where did your son learn that language from?"

"What language?", Rick's head jerked back and turned back to his son, " _What_ language?"

"I don't know", Carl looked just confused as he did, "I don't"

"Andre, is there something you failed to mention to me earlier?", Mrs. Monroe leaned on her forearms as she looked at the quietest person in the room.

Andre was a very slender, gangly teen like Rick's own son. His skin was a few shades lighter than his mother but he had her features and wore his hair in a similar dreadlocked style that fell around his face. His shoulders were slumped and you could almost see the bruise beginning to form under his eye, but he hadn't looked up the entire time, and continued to do so as he replied, "...I heard them call me not-nice words when I walked by the table where they were sitting. They were laughing…"

"What word?", Mrs. Monroe probed as she leaned in closer.

Mrs. Anthony put her hand on his knee as she answered for him with a stone cold tone, "Dumb _coon_."

Rick's head reared even further back than before and his face contorted in utter confusion, "Excuse me?"

All eyes fell on Carl, and he shook his head adamantly, his eyes wide and pleading, "I never said it¬ I thought they made it up¬ I don't even know what it _means_ ¬"

"You heard Carl use that word?", Mrs. Monroe tilted her head to see his face, "I just want you to be sure since that's a very serious allegation to make, Andre."

The other teen seemed so withdrawn from the discussion that Rick was surprised he even answered in his quiet, monotone, "...I don't know… I looked back and he was laughing too."

"I wasn't laughing with them", Carl argued with a flushed face, "How could I have been¬ We got to the lunch hall at the same time and I didn't see anyone throw the pudding at him, I just saw it on his shirt¬"

"I don't believe for a second that my son would say somethan' like that", Rick had observed his son long enough to believe he was telling the truth. He stuttered incoherently when he was innocent, but only because he was trying so desperately get all the information out, "He probably couldn't even tell you what it means, and he hasn't been raised to think that any kind of slur like that is acceptable or funny"

Mrs. Monroe looked over at Andre and his mother as she grabbed a tissue from a box on her desk, "...I can have a talk with the other boys. Maybe one of them did use that word but they didn't know just what it means. They might think that it's just a funny sounding word, but obviously, we won't stand for that here¬"

"I can't believe this", Mrs Anthony rolled her head back as she looked up to the ceiling, then back at the principle, "So let me get this straight; You and I have both been aware that my son has been having problems with this boy and his friends, and when he finally escalates things by throwing something on his shirt¬"

"I didn't throw it", Carl insisted in a strained tone, "I don't know who threw it¬"

"Your son did admit to starting the altercation, Mrs. Anthony", Mrs. Monroe added gently, "He told me that himself¬"

"Can you blame him?", Mrs. Anthony argued, "I certainly can't at this point! All he has to do is deny everything and the Sergeant will obviously agree with his son and then my son will look like the one that's lashing out for no reason at all¬"

"If any of what was just said even sounded even remotely like somethan' my son would do, then I'd be the first one to pull him about it", Rick frowned as he addressed her directly, "And he can tell you that for himself. Now what it sounds like to me is just a big misunderstanding; I think Carl got the heat for somethan' that his idiot friends did and I've warned him that these thangs can happen when you get yourself involved with the wrong crowd¬"

"So it's his friend's fault, not him?", She summarized sardonically, "That sums it up perfectly"

"They are to blame, and it's also his fault for not picking better friends", Rick shot back, his forehead creased, "But Andre also needs to know that he can't react that way. I understand that they probably said some disgusting thangs but¬"

"You think that's all they've done?", She snapped, her eyes alive with anger, "They have tormented him and he's even come home looking a lot worse than your son, and the fact that you know that he's hanging around with kids like that but you haven't done anything besides warning him that he might get some heat for it, is ridiculous"

"Mrs. Anthony", Mrs. Monroe held up her hand to stop her while Rick found himself speechless, "Please. You're angry and you have every right to be, but we won't solve anything this way. I've gotten all I could from both boys and I will have to talk to the other boys involved, as well as their parents, and I'm going to continue to do everything I can to make sure that no one is bullying or being bullied. Andre and Carl are both great kids, who are both doing so well in their classes and I'd hate to see that change because of this… And I have to tell you that I do believe that the Sergeant might be right here"

Everyone heard Mrs. Anthony inhale sharply.

Mrs. Monroe continued, "It does sound like Carl came in at the wrong time and Andre assumed he was in on it. He said that he wasn't sure if he heard him say anything but he saw him laughing after the pudding was thrown and… that's when the fight ensued. Does that sound plausible to you boys?"

Carl nodded his head in agreement, while Andre just shrugged his shoulders, "I guess…"

Mrs. Monroe gave him a pitiful look, "I hope you can both calm down enough to hear what I have to say. I've had a lot of time to think about what's happened today and what I think we need to do moving forward, and while I do believe that a punishment is in order… I'd be willing to look past that if you both agree to allow me to use your boys as… guinea pigs… for a new program that we wish to practice at the school"

Ricks eyebrows sprung up at the term, " _Guinea pigs_?"

"Well, yes", Mrs. Monroe began to smile, "You see, even though Kings Academy is performing the best in this district, we still face the same problems as any other school in terms of students behavior. We very rarely like to suspend students and we encourage them to use their words and we try to get parents involved as much as we can, but after learning that several schools in the area will be taking part in this program and we were required to send a few students ourselves, I was wondering who we could enrol that had a better chance at succeeding"

Ricks mouth opened and closed as he thought about that. He glanced at his son and was about to ask for more information but Mrs. Anthony beat him to it, "What is it?"

"Students are encouraged to spend time together outside of school and completing team building exercises put together by several highly trained officials called, Just Partners. Activities take place at the Lenox Centre and it will run from two-thirty to five thirty for four weeks. It's already been tested in other districts and I've heard nothing but rave reviews so far. It teaches them about boundaries, mutual respect, understanding, empathy¬"

"Things the parent's meant to be teaching their kids already", Mrs. Anthony raised an eyebrow at the principle as she made the snide remark, leading Rick to turn his head so he could look directly at her.

"...Yes.", Mrs. Monroe sighed, "But it's done in a way where they get to work directly with their peers so they can help source the route of their conflict"

"With all due respect, Mrs. Monroe", Rick began to shake his head, "But wouldn't Andre be better suited with someone he actually had a conflict with? Like I said earlier, the problem lies with the other boys, not my son"

Carl perked up in his seat as he added, "Yeah, and I'm not a bully"

The older woman clasped her hands together, "Well I would agree that pairing Andre with one of the other boys would be a good idea but¬"

"I'd take a front seat in hell before I allow my son anywhere near those boys", Mrs. Anthony warned clearly, "Never."

Mrs Monroe tilted her head to the side as if she were saying, 'That's why', "And you must understand that the situation with the other parents of the boys is already quite volatile... and we aim to tackle any forms of discrimination very seriously¬"

"Unless you're the Sergeant's son", Mrs. Anthony ejected dryly.

Rick whipped his head around to look at her, "There's only meant to be two children in here ma'am, not three"

She reeked of attitude as she rolled her hard stare over to meet his, then rolled her eyes right back to Mrs. Monroe, "So say my son does take part in this program; what happens after? How do Just Partners make sure that they don't revert back to old habits?"

"I'm glad you asked that, Mrs. Anthony. Just Partners actually have a mentor for each pair of students, and when they've completed the four weeks then that mentor remains in touch with them, checking that their progress continues to soar and that if any similar problems do arise then they'll be able to tackle that negative behavior before it manifests itself again.", Mrs. Monroe reached for a cup nearby and held it to her lips as she asked, "So how does that sound?"

Rick slowly inhaled as he looked at Carl. He didn't look too blown away by the idea either, but Rick would prefer that to suspension, "What do you think?"

Carl shrugged as he looked at him, "Whatever. I don't mind, I just don't want to keep getting called a bully…"

"This is all good and well but my son will still be here in the school day and that's when all of this happens", Mrs. Anthony crossed her slim arms over her chest, "You said that you'd continue to make sure that bullying is dealt with but¬"

"I promise you that I will", Mrs. Monroe set her cup back down, "I mean it. This has gone on long enough and I'd hate for you to withdraw his place here because he's doing excellently. You're a very bright young man, Andre"

Andre finally lifted his head, but that was only to look at something on the wall. His mother still kept her hand on his knee protectively.

She flashed a small smile in his direction, even though he hadn't looked up to see it, "So what do the parents think? Is this something we're willing to try?"

Rick slowly inhaled as he was about to confirm his agreement, but Michonne was quicker, "Fine."

"Sure", He added.

"Great", Mrs. Monroe beamed at them all, "Well I hope the two of you will be able to get the time off work to attend the sessions too, and I know it's a lot to ask but¬"

"Wait, we have to attend too?", Mrs. Anthony unraveled her arms and sat forward, "I thought this was just for them?"

"No… Parents are encouraged to attend also. Often in situations like this, you'll find that students can benefit from having their parent involved too. It helps to build their confidence, and often in situations like this you'll find that there may have been a breakdown in communication between parent and child, which leads to¬"

"While I do see how it can be beneficial for parents to be present, I have to stress to you that I've just accepted the position of district attorney for the Kings County judicial circuit…", As soon as the title left her lips Rick wanted to release the longest, most dramatic groan that he could. His whole department had been made aware that they'd found someone for the role and knowing it was her immediately annoyed him, but it made sense. She continued to try and worm her way out of the program, "I don't think I'll be able to come along because I have so many cases to catch up on¬"

"If you're the district attorney then aren't you meant to start in November?", Rick squinted at the wall as he tried to recall the information he'd previously heard, "We were told down at the Sheriff's department that they weren't due to introduce you until the annual ball"

Mrs. Anthony didn't even attempt to look at him, "That's not true."

"You should probably find out before you shoot down a chance to help your son", Rick was so pleased with his comeback that he wanted to applaud himself, and seeing her tense in response only made him more pleased with himself, "We'll be there Mrs. Monroe, just let me know when it starts so I can run it over with my Lieutenant"

"Fantastic. And Mrs. Anthony, I'll give you some time to check that you'll be available and if you can get back to me some time this week then I'll appreciate it", Mrs. Monroe reached for another tissue again, "This can be very beneficial for all of you."

As soon as they were able to leave the office and subsequently the school building, Rick could breathe a little sigh of relief. He truly did believe that his son wasn't bullying Andre but he knew that he'd befriended three other boys that Rick was wary of. He had warned his son that they weren't the type of friends he wanted to keep and he hoped that this would be a valuable lesson to him.

He told Carl to wait in his truck so that he could speak with Mrs. Anthony and after getting her attention he strolled up to her while she sent Andre to her car. Rick tried not to gawk at her son but there was something about him that was a little unusual, but it wasn't overly obvious what that was. When they were finally close enough to speak, her eyes scrutinized every inch of him, "Problem?"

"No. No problem at all", He set his hands on his sides as he peered at her, "Just think that we've got an opportunity here to turn everythan' around for both of them"

Mrs Anthony stared at him for a few moments before turning on her heel, "Alright, goodbye¬"

"Wait- wait, hold on a second", He held up a hand to stop her from walking away, "I meant that we could help them by not labeling anyone anythan', and perhaps not grouping my son together with¬"

"Ah, there it is", She shook her head as she took a small step back, "You want to make sure that it doesn't get out that your son's part of a group of¬"

"Because he's not", Rick ejected firmly before she had a chance to offend him again, "He hasn't always had it easy around here and he fell in with the wrong crowd because of it¬"

"And neither has my son, but you don't see him joining forces with other delinquents and making there lives a living hell", She raised a neatly plucked eyebrow at him, "So there's no excuse for it and you can stop looking for one"

"I don't have to look for one, it's right in front of us and as clear as day, Mrs. Anthony", Rick found himself using his authoritative voice, "And I actually think that both of them might find some common ground somewhere if they get the chance to talk to each other. Despite what you might think, my son's not a bad kid and I've gathered that Andre isn't either, and I think I have more right than you to be mad about the fact that Andre was the one to start the fight but I'm not because I still think this was just a big misunderstanding. I also think that my son deserved to see first hand what happens when you mess around with the wrong people."

Mrs. Anthony appears unmoved by his speech and simply blinked in response.

"I'm just saying, if we appear to support this then they might really get somethan' out of this, and we can't do that if you're standing in the way", He cocked his head to one side as he looked at her, "So can we agree to approach this differently?"

Mrs. Anthony gave him that hard stare for a few more silent moments before rolling her eyes, "I will continue to approach this as a concerned parent¬"

"And so will I"

"Then that's _that_ ", She didn't waste time stalking away from him the second time around, holding her head high, while Rick growled to himself out of frustration.

He could understand the root of her anger. It made perfect sense to him since he would probably react the same way if it were Carl, but from the moment she marched into Mrs. Monroe's office, it was clear that she had already made up her mind about how the meeting would go. He thought they'd at least reach a civil understanding by the time they were done, but he was mistaken. He figured that it wouldn't have been so bad if she weren't so striking.

"...I just walked in there and they were all laughing like maniacs and… I mean I started to smile because I wanted to know what was funny but then I saw Andre… and he just started punching me so I punched him back", Carl explained listlessly as they sat in his truck, "I heard them saying that word but they always tell these weird jokes that I don't get so I just thought it was something they made up…Is it something to do with him being black?"

"Yeah. It is, and It's a word that none of you should be using", Rick replied a little firmly, "And I hope you realize now what kind of boys they are"

"I know", Carl sighed as he looked out the window, "I knew they could be a little loud and stuff… and they could jerks sometimes but… they were cool with me, you know? It was cool being treated like a regular kid...and not 'the kid whose mom killed herself'..."

Ricks pupils sailed away from his son as he let that label sink in, "No. You're… You're more than just that. That was just somethan'... somethan' that happened to you but it's not what defines you, and it shouldn't put you in a position where you think that any friends are better than no friends. You're a great kid and sometimes it takes people time to see that, but you don't change who you are for that to happen…"

Carl exhaled tiredly as he dropped back against the headrest, "I know, dad…"

"Good. I don't want you hanging around with them again because it won't end well for you... I bet none of them gotta' a busted lip", Rick finally started his truck as he tried to subdue thoughts of his wife, "Maybe this program might really help you and Andre. You never know; you might find that the two of you have a few thangs in common. Some great friendships have started off on the wrong foot"

"...I don't think so. His mom seemed pretty angry…"

Rick tried to refrain from snarling, "Yeah. Obviously, he's been having problems for a while and it's not nice to see your loved ones upset because of other people… and if you had played a part in that then we'd be having a different conversation right now but that wasn't the case and I think she needs to accept that"

"...We didn't have a problem before… I know those guys used to mess with him but it wasn't anythan' bad¬"

"Stop right there", Rick took his attentions away from the windshield for a second to look at his son, "You weren't the receiving end of that so you can't decide how bad it was, and it doesn't matter if you didn't join in or not when they were messing with him, the fact that you stood there and witnessed it without saying a word or walking away, makes them think that they're safe do those things around you and it makes Andre think that you're apart of it."

Carl bowed his head as he listened to his father.

"You know a few years back we arrested three young boys for breaking into a house. One was the mastermind, the other was the lookout while the third was just tagging along. You think the judge let him go? Even though he didn't help them break in or touch anythan' when he got in there?"

Carl turned his head to look at his father, "...No?"

"No. He still went to jail and so did the lookout, and you know why that is? Because chances are, if they hadn't agreed to go along then the mastermind wouldn't have wanted to do it alone", Rick huffed as he shook his head with despair, "There's nothing more dangerous than an Idiot with a following. One idiot is manageable, but ten of them would be a _problem_ "

Carl smirked at his summary, "Yeah. I got it; don't be an idiot"

"No. _Don't be an idiot_. Always tell yourself that when you're faced with somethan' like that again"

"Yeah...", Carl grew quiet for some time before finally requesting softly, "...Can we stop and see mom?"

Rick tightened his hold on the steering wheel, "Uh, yeah… We can."

His son should have reworded his question because it was him that wanted to see Lori's grave, not Rick. He still couldn't bring himself to get close enough. She was buried within view of the cemetery, so he could wait by his truck while Carl went to clear his mind. He could imagine his son visiting her grave for years and years to come since they were so close. Closer than he was with Rick. He couldn't deny him the chance to reconnect her.

The anniversary of her death was looming over them both and soon Carl would clam up and hide away from the world. It would be an emotional day for both of them but it had to happen, even if Rick hadn't forgiven her yet.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

"...Let me see that eye of yours", Michonne cupped her son's face and began examining the bruise around his eye, "Did you put ice on it?"

"Mr. Rhee gave me some…", Andre's big, chocolate brown eyes looked everywhere else but at her, "...When Jake gets punched in the face, his eye swells up and turns purple"

"Well Jake is a dog in a cartoon, so Jake can get punched", Michonne sat back and looked at him, just as her sons one and only companion, Maximillion, jumped onto the bed and snuggled between them. The German shepherd always wanted to be a part of anything they did, so Michonne gave her head a generous scratch as she tried to talk to Andre, "I don't want _you_ getting punched¬"

"I read that one yesterday", He leaned over to his bedside table and picked up one of his most prized comic books, "I'm reading issue number forty again"

"Hey, Andre…", She put her hand on his knee to catch his attention again, "I'm talking to you, can you listen to me please?"

His eyes flickered to her hand, then up to her face, "...Sorry"

"It's okay", She smiled at him, "I just want you to understand that I don't want you fighting, okay? I know those boys aren't very nice, and I know it's hard to ignore the things that they say but you have to¬"

"Finn and Jake talked with Cards in episode twenty… season five", He offered in his usual dry tone, "I should do that"

"No", She shook her head, "I wouldn't like that. I like to hear you speak"

His gaze finally met hers and her heart sighed. When he looked her in the eye she felt like her son was choosing to connect with her, and that was all she ever wanted. She gave him her brightest smile and he mimicked her, "You're smiling"

"I am.", She cupped his slender face between her hands, "You make me smile… But I need you to do what you do with me, and use your words when you're upset, okay? Don't lash out like that, because you'll be just as bad as them"

Worry etched on his face as he drew his hands towards him, "I am?"

"No, no you're not, but you will be if you fight them", She explained, "But you won't, okay? Remember, Mrs. Monroe said she's going to make sure that Tara gets you to the library at lunch so you can go in there and read… You can take your lunch in there too, so that's great, right?"

"I like that", His gaze trailed the space around her. She brushed his dreadlocks over his shoulder, "...Miss. Smith won't let them throw food at me…"

Michonne felt that familiar pang of pain in her chest, "No. No one will, okay? And If they do then you get to a teacher- any teacher and you let them know right away. They'll call me and I'll come straight there"

"...I don't understand", Andre lowered his head, and Michonne held open her arms; she knew what was coming next. Her long-limbed son fell against her chest and wrapped his arms around her while Maximillion hopped off the bed so that she wasn't squashed between them, "...Why don't they like me?"

Michonne wrapped her arms around him tight and kissed the top of his head, "They don't understand you. That's all that is. Once other kids get to know you then they'll see that you're the most beautiful, kind, smart and sweetest boy there is… My special little pup."

He sat up and gave her the beginning of his awkward smile, "Like Jake's pups?"

"Like Jake's pups", She beamed at him. He didn't notice that her eyes glistened with tears. She sniffed as she looked towards his bedroom door, "Do you think you'll like going to Just Partners? Mrs. Monroe said that we'll get to do things together and maybe you might meet some new people there?"

Andre pushed up his bottom lip as he reached for his comic book again, "...No...I just want to come home.."

"Well maybe I can talk to her about you getting to leave earlier but we kinda' have to do it so that you don't get suspended. We can try it out, see how it goes? We might get to play fun games¬"

"No…", He began flicking through the pages.

"Okay, okay¬ How about…After we go to Just Partners, we get ice-cream? If you do the lessons then I'll take you for ice-cream right after, every day that we have to go?"

His eyebrows sprung up as he looked at a page, "Ice-cream?"

"Ice-cream. I promise."

"I like ice-cream… Chocolate chip with strawberry sauce"

"We can go to the Diner right after we're done. Every. Day.", She watched him closely, hoping her bribe would work.

He always wrinkled his brow and nose when he was making a weighted decision, and after making a little growl he replied, "...You promise?…"

"I absolutely _promise_ ", Michonne wanted to punch the air in celebration. It wasn't easy for her to convince her son to do anything that didn't involve his favorite cartoon characters. She kept the delightful conversation going, "Oscar is making homemade pizza. Your favorite"

"It is my favorite."

Michonne still carried so much anger from her son's treatment that she was beginning to think that her only option would be to homeschool him, but there were a number of reasons she hadn't made that choice yet. The first being that besides the bullying, Andre loved school.

He excelled in all of his classes and was often lightyears ahead of everyone else. She'd been told by school officials that he was eligible to enrol in college-level classes but she had to think long and hard about that, because she knew that her son didn't like the idea of change in his routine, and that led to the other reason why homeschooling didn't seem like an option. Even though he could take so little interest in others, he wasn't completely unaware of what was going on around him and before the bullying began he did like socializing with others, on his terms, that is.

After leaving her son to read his comics in peace, she ventured to the ground floor of her home to see how her husband was getting along with dinner, and the delicious smell that lingered in the air let her know that he was getting on just fine.

"Smells great in here", She slowly stepped into the kitchen and watched him from afar. He was unloading the dishwasher when he looked up at her.

"I know", He replied with a smirk, "That's why I do the cooking around here. Don't want you burning the place down"

She rolled her eyes at his comment, "Anyway… The talk with his principle went better than expected but still quite bad. She's not going to suspend him, though"

"Good. I don't want him hanging around the house all day when I'm here.", Oscar stacked a few dishes in his hand, "I've got work to do to, you know."

Michonne hated how he articulated his feelings. He could be so rough with his words, "Well he won't be but he and I will be going to this program after school. It's being run by the school district to help combat bullying"

Oscar rolled his eyes as he set the plates on the counter, "How much does it cost?"

"It doesn't cost anything", She pointed out flatly as she noticed unopened mail on the island, "It would be great if I can take him one day and you take him the other. It's over at the Lenux Centre"

"Count me out", He closed the dishwasher door, "I've got to work on this project"

She slowly inhaled as she snatched the mail off the counter and headed for her office, "Of course."

She was sure that he was lying to her. It was an excuse that was only used when she asked him for assistance with something, otherwise, she'd come home many times to find him in his studio with his feet kicked up and laughing on the phone. There was no doubt in her mind that the man was a talented designer, but she could count the number of deposits he'd made to the joint checking account in the last year on one hand.

He had taken the growth in her career hard in recent years. When they first got together he said he found it 'refreshing', but at some point it became stale. He'd make snide comments here and there, and he never missed an opportunity to remind her that he worked too because his resentment stemmed from the importance of the roles they played. He wanted to be seen as her equal and that his job was just as significant as hers. Whenever they went to events together, he'd puff up his chest and answer any questions about his own career proudly, as if he was ready to shut down anyone who mocked him but nobody ever did. All of his insecurities were in his mind, and it was something she wished she could eradicate altogether.

Once the pizza was done they all sat around the dining table and ate in silence; Oscar tapped away at his phone while Andre used one hand to hold a slice of pizza and another to hold open his comic book. Michonne waited until he finished chewing to speak, "...We should do something this weekend"

Neither of them looked at her.

She cleared her throat and caught Oscar's attention for a microsecond, "I said, we should do something this weekend, like go to the park or something."

"Isn't his father meant to be coming down to see him?", Her husband continued to eye his phone screen.

It was one of the few times that Michonne was glad that her son had no interest in the things going on around him because the topic of his father was a sensitive one. She reached for her glass of water, as she answered quietly, "I haven't heard from him yet…".

That wasn't a complete lie. Mike had told her that if he could make it then he'd let her know, but unlike Oscar, Mike was a very busy man running his own business in a different state. It wasn't an ideal scenario and Michonne believed that Andre would benefit from having his father close by, but Mike still kept in regular contact with them and he supported his son substantially. It was another thing that Michonne was sure that annoyed Oscar.

Her husband grabbed the last slice of pizza off of his plate as he replied, "Well I need to get to get some things done¬"

Andre's chair squeaked as he slid it back and stood up. His eyes were glued to the comic book as he walked away without a word.

"Hey, hey! Andre!", Oscar called, "Put your damn _plate_ away!"

"Don't worry, I've got it!", Michonne called to her son while shooting her husband as annoyed look, "Don't talk to him like that."

His expression dulled, "Like what, Michonne?"

"Like that. You can ask him nicely and he'll do it¬ You know that¬"

"Not when he's got his face in one of those books", Oscar sneered as he shook his head, "He knows how to do it so we shouldn't have to remind him to do anything"

"He knows how to do a lot of things and yes, we do actually need to remind him every now and then", She dropped her slice of pizza on the plate as she replied, "And you need to remember to have a little more patience with him. You know that when he's having a tough time at school then he likes to come home and read. That's what calms him down¬ that's what soothes him. Barking orders at him doesn't help; so stop it"

"You need to stop talking to me like I'm one of those people outside", Oscar slammed his phone down on the table as he turned to face her in his seat, "I'm the only man under this roof, but I'm the one cooking and cleaning¬"

"Here we go", She exhaled tiredly as she stared right back him, "That old chestnut"

"And you need to drop that attitude", He shot back, "You always got something to say when it comes to everybody else but you let everything slide when it comes to him¬"

"I can get my son's plate if I want to", Her chair made a similar squeak as she stood up and pushed it back. She snatched both plates off the table, "I can't believe that this is what you're choosing to argue about"

"Because you don't listen. You're still babying the boy even after he beat up some little punk", Oscar picked his phone back up again as he sat properly in his seat again, "He's smarter than you give him credit for, but you don't like to give anybody credit for anything"

She snorted at him as she began making her way out the dining room, "Talk about the pot calling the kettle black".

It was getting harder and harder to believe that they had been married for several years. The nature of their arguments was creating such a divide between them that she'd sometimes wonder if they knew each other anymore. His patience for his step-son was almost nonexistent when he was angry and she'd have to remind him of just who it was that he was speaking to. She didn't want to feel like she was protecting her son from his step-father because Oscar was once the only other person she entrusted with Andre, but his attitude could be so explosive at times that she needed to be that barrier between them.

She didn't say anything further to him for the rest of the night but that was nothing new. With so much going on in their lives, she had to leave her problems with her husband at home and continue her battle with Andre's school while preparing to start her new role in the DA's office.

"Do you remember what's happening at lunch today?", She asked her son calmly on the drive to school the next day. She plastered a smile on her face in hopes that he'd be in a good spirit to face his peers, but underneath that smile was tiger ready to pounce.

Andre was sat forward and looking out of the passenger window, completely engrossed in their journey.

"Hey, honey", Michonne called again, and he partially turned to face her, "I said do you remember what's happening at lunch today?"

Andre started out the windshield for a moment, "...Library?"

"Yes. Library. I'm going to talk to Mrs. Monroe and Tara to make sure you've accompanied from class to the lunch hall, then you get your food and you can go to the library, okay?"

"I like Tara. She has a dog, too.", Andre blessed her with a smile, "A Boston terrier. He's four years old"

"We are not getting any more dogs", Michonne smirked at him, "So cut that out. Max is enough for us"

"Max is a good girl", He began to sit back in his seat as they approached the school building.

"Yes, she is…".

The change in his attitude was getting more noticeable with each passing day. As soon as they were in the school's perimeter, it was as though a switch went off in his mind and he behaved more like a drone than her son. She parked on the opposite side of the street and they exited her car. Andre put his backpack on with extra care while she grabbed her purse from the backseat, and it was just when she was about to close the door that she noticed who was parked a vehicle ahead of her.

The Sergeant and his son were stood beside his truck, looking over in her direction, and she would have happily ignored them if they hadn't begun walking in her direction and not towards the school. She groaned to herself as she slammed the car door, "This should be fun."

"Good morning Mrs. Anthony", The Sergeant greeted cooly as he stopped by the front of her vehicle with his son standing close by, "Andre."

Andre was too busy adjusting his bag straps to look up. Michonne yanked her purse up to her shoulder, "Is there _another_ problem?"

"No. No problem at all", He placed a hand on his son's shoulder, "...I had a talk with Carl yesterday and thought it would be a good idea to have these two apologize and shake hands so there isn't any… lingering hostility. They didn't get a chance to yesterday but maybe having slept on it, they feel a little differently about it all today"

Michonne stared at both of them oddly. She was beginning to think that the man was willing to go to great lengths to paint his son in the best light, which would be admirable if she didn't think he was quite the opposite. She slowly inhaled as she turned to her son, "Andre? Would you like to apologize to Carl and… Shake hands?"

Andre let her know just how he felt about that by pushing his lips out as he kept his gaze low.

"...How about...", The sergeant nudged Carl forward, "You go first, son…"

Carl couldn't look any more uncomfortable if he tried, but he proceeded to speak, "...I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I felt the same as those guys yesterday because I don't. I don't think anything that they've done to you is funny. They're idiots and I'm a bigger idiot for hanging around with them. I don't want to have any problems with you."

Michonne kept her face neutral as she wondered if the teen was coached. She looked at her son and could tell he wasn't sold either, but due to the fact that he did start the fight she felt it was her duty to encourage him to apologize for his actions, "Andre…"

Her son looked in her direction, but not at her face. She could almost pinpoint the moment when he decided to fold, "...Sorry. I shouldn't have punched you. I'm not bad and I don't want to be. Sorry…"

The Sergeant cleared his throat, and Carl stuck out a hand in front of him. Andre glanced at the extended limb, then shook it. The only person that looked pleased amongst them was Carl's father. He looked at Michonne, "It's a start"

She flashed him a pathetic attempt at a smile, "Great… Okay, time to get in there. We don't want to be late now, do we?"

"Go on in Carl", The sergeant tapped his hand on his sons back again, "I'll see you later"

"Bye", The teen replied as he prepared to cross the street.

"Come on, honey", Michonne waited for her son to join her, "Let's go"

The Sergeant and his son didn't sit well with her. She didn't buy the excuses or the apology, and she was waiting for the mask to slip sooner or later.

Once she'd made sure that Andre was at his class, she spent some time harassing Mrs. Monroe for more information about the steps planned to take to combat the bullying, and about the after-school programme because she still had her doubts, but the principle couldn't wait to assure her that it was a good idea. She told her about all the different kinds of activities they could take part in and the special sessions they'd put together for parents to get involved in, and while it may have sounded like the ideal setting, she knew she'd have her work cut out for her with Andre.

And so would Carl.

She only managed to make it to her new office after she was promised that her son would be safe at school from that point on, and when she did finally arrive, she was in awe. She took her time taking in her new setting; running her hand along the mahogany table and eyeing all the literature on the grand bookshelf. It was a sizeable room, decorated to presidential status, and most importantly; it was hers.

If she wasn't proof that hard work pays off, then she wasn't sure who was. After having such a chaotic start into adulthood, she didn't think she'd get the chance to fulfill any dreams of a career; She became a wife and a mother at a young age, and spent the first year of Andre's life fretting about their future, but her father played a big role in her first marriage and it was because of him that she was able to go back to school, and it was because of him the Mike was able to get his business going. He took care of his grandson while they took the necessary steps to building their lives, and not being able to share the fruits of her labor with her beloved father would always tear her apart. When she was first notified that she'd be acting at the County's first black female District attorney, and the youngest, she immediately thought of him and hoped that she had made him proud.

"...You've got mail", The silver-haired secretary declared cheerfully as she walked through the open door with a large box in her hand, "Whether it's good or bad all depends on how you look at it"

"Thank you, Carol", Michonne eyed the item, "Are those the case files? That's all?"

"Oh God no", Carol snorted as she set the box down on the floor and directly in front of her desk, "We've got plenty more out there. They moved them out of here when they were doing the place up for you"

"Oh…", Michonne smoothed her blouse as she stepped around the desk, "Well let me help you, we can get it done quicker"

She quickly realized that they would have gotten the task done quicker if they had even more hands. There were more boxes than she could be bothered to count and she had the extra dreaded task of filing them away in the new cabinets, but fortunately for her, Carol volunteered to help.

"So how's that boy of yours doing?", She asked gently as she broke down one of these boxes, "He still going good in school?"

Michonne huffed as she slipped a folder into the draw, "He's doing great in school, just not with other kids"

" _Still_?", Carol frowned, "What are they doing about it?"

"Well, Mrs. Monroe said that she's having a meeting with their parents today… The lady that works in Admin over there told me that she heard through the grapevine that they're getting expelled but I don't know if I believe it", Michonne looked over at her, "It's like pulling teeth trying to get them to do something"

"But how's Andre taking it? He's not closing off because of it, is he?"

"Not really…", Michonne began to shake her head but stopped, "I mean… As he got older he started to actually like talking to people… not all the time but sometimes, and I think being at school gave him that chance, you know? If he felt like talking to people then he would but since those boys zeroed in on him… I don't think he makes much of an effort anymore and I really, really don't want him to hide away in his shell again because that was tough"

"Of course you wouldn't want that, and it sounds to me like he's made some great progress over the years… Have you met the parents of the boys?", Carol probed, "Any of them?"

"Only one. The Sergeant.", She rolled her eyes, "He made his son apologize this morning and he's so adamant that he's completely innocent¬"

"The Sergeant?", Carol gave her that notorious owl stare of hers, "Grimes? Rick Grimes?"

Michonne stared back at her, "I don't know his name. His son's name is Carl"

Carol stopped what she was doing, "You never told me it was Carl that was involved? What the hell is he doing?"

"You should ask his father. He seems to have all the answers"

"Well, what did Rick have to say about it?"

Michonne scoffed as she rested an arm on the filing cabinet, "I told you; he's convinced that his son was innocent and it was just one big understanding. He came over to us this morning when I was dropping Andre to school and made them shake hands like that was meant to make him feel better about having pudding thrown at him and being called a dumb coon"

Carol snapped her eyes shut, " _Jesus_ "

"What made it worse was that It was like that was the least interesting part of it all", Michonne felt herself getting annoyed again as she reached for another file, "They both just dismissed it and said they probably didn't know what it means"

"If they don't know what it means then that's probably because they've just heard it thrown around at home or something", Carol reasoned, "But if they do know what it means then that's probably because they've just heard it thrown around at home or something. Either way, they've heard it used somewhere and they know it's not a nice word, that's why they used it."

Michonne threw her hands up in the air, "Exactly"

"But…", Carol held up her hand to stop her, "I have to say that Rick's not one of those men, and Carl would never be exposed to that kind of stuff at home. I know you might not want to hear it right now but… Rick's a good man, and Carl's…He's like a lost little boy but he doesn't mean any harm to anyone and he's a good kid. I know for a fact that if you were to tell Rick how you felt then he'd try to rectify it as best he could. He's like that."

"Oh great, more handshakes", Michonne rolled her eyes at the suggestion.

"I mean it", Carol insisted lightly, "A couple of the families used to get together before his wife passed and we'd go up to the lake and we'd have parties together¬ the whole thing was Rick's idea, to begin with. It was just Rick and his wife and Carl with me and Sophia at first, but then he invited Morgan to come along and whenever Morgan's brother was in town he'd be adamant that he'd join us too and soon enough there were nine of ten families getting together all the time The kids would play together and the adults would sit around and drink and eat¬ It was great. We felt like one big family."

Michonne crossed her arms over her chest as she peered at the silver haired woman.

"Now I don't know what's going through Carl's mind but I am willing to bet a large sum of money that his father feels strongly against it. He probably feels ashamed, too"

"He should be", Michonne agreed easily, "He knew that his son was hanging around with those idiots but all he did was 'warn' him"

"I would have had to tan Sophia's hide if I caught her out there with a bad crowd", Carol smirked, "Right in front of them too, so she'd be too embarrassed to even think about going near them again"

Michonne sniggered at her joke, "I wish everybody was like you"

She was almost glad that she wasn't due to start on any work just yet because filling away all of the cases took up most of her work day. She had a lot to catch up on and so needed to use her time wisely. When the day would finally come that she was to introduce herself to other members of Law enforcement she wanted to give the right impression, and that impression was that she was very serious about her role.

It was when she had just sat down to read a sizeable document from the previous attorney that her cell phone rang from the end of her desk. She was going to let it ring because she desperately wanted to read through the file when she caught a glance of her screen and saw it was King's Academy, she grabbed it at lightning speed.

"Michonne? It's Tara", The young woman spoke hurriedly, "Something happened and I heard that Andre was involved but I can't find him¬"

" _What_?", Michonne's chair flew back as she stood up, "What happened? Where's Oscar?!"

"I can't see his car¬ I think there was a fight or something and one of the kids said that Andre ran off somewhere, I don't know where to look¬"

"I'm on my way."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Wanted to get this out last night but I fell asleep. Drool and everything. Enjoy!

Chapter Three:

"...The plumber said that he came over here to fix a few leaks and he had to come to the back because she got so much stuff piled up by the front door. He went in and did some work in the kitchen, then she leads him to the bathroom in her bedroom where her husband was 'asleep' and he said the smell almost made him throw up. She leaves him in there and he starts working again but he can't get over the smell so he goes into the bedroom to ask the gentleman if he can open up a window and that's when he found out that her husband wasn't sleeping at all. The man was dead, rotting in the damn bed…He said he called us right then and there"

Rick looked away from the Deputy and back at the small, derelict home that was being searched by fellow officers, "Where's the lady who lived here?"

"We got her sitting down on the back porch. I asked her how long her husband's been there and she couldn't even answer me", Leon sat his hands at his sides as he peered at the house from over his shoulder, "She said she woke up one morning and he was dead. She said he wouldn't want her to move him so she left him there. She's been sleeping in the same damn bed with him"

Rick shook his head at the thought, "Was he sick?"

"I think they both were. She's got a whole damn pharmacy in her bathroom", Leon scoffed, "You can't even walk around in there properly. They got junk piled on top of junk, piled on top of more junk, piled on top of shit. There's dust and mold everywhere and some kind of animal fur all over the carpet but I didn't see not one animal. Something else is dead in there, I can tell you that. And the smell?"

Rick's face tightened as he pictured it, "Don't."

"I couldn't even describe it to you. I wish I could but… It was just so bad that it made my balls shrivel up", Leon's lips turned up in disgust, "We already got people on the way over here to handle the body, and I told everyone to wait outside because I don't know what kind of toxic fumes we could breathe in"

"Yeah. Good.", Rick rolled his shoulders back as he looked around the overgrown front yard, "Get a statement from her then probably take her down to the hospital, let them check her out and probably get some kind of evaluation on her overall health. Sounds like she's not well… And find out if she's got any friends or family around here that she can stay with because she can't go back in there. Get someone from the county over here to see the state of this place"

"Alright. Got it."

The weather seemed to be a reflection of the scene before Rick. There was no break in the clouds, and there was an occasional rumble of thunder in the distance. He could smell the rain coming.

He checked out the house as he made his way to the back and he was truly horrified by the older couples home. He couldn't even see through any of the windows; they were too filthy. Other officers tried to discreetly hide there discomfort but it was clear that everyone was struggling to stomach what they'd seen or smelt.

"I wanna' make myself some tea", The lady of the house was sprawled out on the porch steps with her legs kicked out in front of her. She was large, with long, unbrushed silver hair and heavily blemished skin, "If you don't mind"

Rick joined the Deputy that was stood in front of her, "Good afternoon, my name's Sergeant Grimes and If you don't mind ma'am, we're gonna' need to get you to a hospital soon enough"

She frowned at him, and spoke in a husky tone, "What for?"

"Because you've been exposed to your husband's decaying body. That's very dangerous and you can become very unwell", Rick got a waft of something repugnant, and he had to turn his head away from a second so he wouldn't gag, "So we need to make sure that you're alright"

The woman pursed her lips as she shook her head.

"...Does anybody else live here with you? Did you own any pets that we need to take care of?", Rick probed gently, just as large raindrop hit him right on the shoulder.

"No. We had a couple dogs over the years, but they all just kept disappearing around here. Think somebody bin' stealing them from us."

"Yeah, _God_ ", Leon muttered as passed by.

"Alright ma'am, well you still need to get to the hospital, just to be on the safe side, but first we're gonna' need a statement from you about your husband…", As much as Rick enjoyed his job, there were some aspects of it that simply left Rick speechless.

Kings County wasn't even half as big as most of the neighboring towns and only had fifty-thousand or so residents, and though they still faced their fair share of crime, sometimes he'd be presented with situations that the average person couldn't think up. Sometimes things stayed with him and sometimes they were easier to swallow, but hearing that the old hoarder had slept in the same bed as her decomposing husband for days, possibly weeks mortified him. While he liked to think that he knew what true love was, he couldn't be sure that such an act came under the same category.

When he was sure that Leon had everything under control at the scene, he climbed into his squad car with his Corporal just as the rain started to come down with a vengeance. The man groaned, "Jesus. Look at this rain"

Rick fastened his seatbelt and started the car, "We've seen worse"

"We have?", The Corporal raised an eyebrow at him as he fastened his own seatbelt, " _When_?"

"You forgot when we got stuck in the mud and it was pouring down?", Rick recalled with a disbelieving smirk as they pulled away from the curb and onto the street, "We were both covered in mud up to our waist and drenched from there on up"

"Oh boy, I completely forgot about that", The man shifted around in his seat until he got comfortable, "I think my mind made me forget because I wanted to kill you that day"

Rick's frowned at him, "Why?"

"Because when you get frustrated you start yelling and cursing", Theodore pointed out, "And I take that kinda' thing personally. I know you don't mean it that way but I can't help it"

Rick swallowed a chuckle, "Well I apologize, I'm glad you know that I didn't mean anythan' by it but that whole incident would have passed a lot quicker if you had just¬"

"You should have just stopped yourself after that apology", Theodore narrowed his eyes at him.

"You're right. I should have.", Rick took his attention away from the windshield to laugh at the other man, "Was you the first on the scene back there?"

The Corporal sighed, "Yeah, me and Leon... I still can't understand how she could have slept in that room with him because it was foul. Just… Ugh. And they had all these things in piles that nearly touched the ceiling... Man, I used to think people like that were just dirty and needed help cleaning up but I realized… Nobody would choose to live like that on purpose"

"I agree", Rick piped up as he drove, turning the car off the residential street, "She ain't well…"

"Not at all. Think they have a problem with letting go of the past… They wanna' hold on to something that reminds them of a special time…", The Corporal shrugged, "I mean, I ain't-a doctor or anything but that's what it looks like to me, and I think we can all relate to that at some stage in our life. We just store those memories differently"

That was something that Rick could certainly agree with, "Yeah. You're right¬"

".. _.All units, please *** advised that we have a ten-seventy-three, African American *** male, minor, last seen at seven *** three Windsor Street, Kings Academy *** school at ten-past two by T.A_..."

As soon as Rick heard the announcement on the radio he took hold of the receiver and brought it to his lips, "Sergeant Grimes, ten-seventeen"

". _..T.A said young *** male was attacked *** unit out for three caucasian ***, minors, last seen running from the scene, ten-seventy-three, prone to *** meltdown, six-zero-***-nine, Walsh and Kendall ten-twenty-***_..."

"I think I know exactly who that is", Rick hung the receiver back on the radio, "A kid from Carl's school. He's been having problems."

"Yeah? Alright, let's check it out", The Corporal tapped his fingers on the passenger window ledge, "He probably just went home. I don't think anyone wants to be out in this weather."

"He might have done, but if he was upset then that might not be the case", Rick had no sooner spoken when he caught a glimpse of someone walking along the pavement in the rain without an umbrella or even a jacket on. It took him only a second to be sure that it was Andre, "There he is"

He had never seen such a pitiful sight. The teen had only white socks on his feet and tear at the front of his shirt. His kept his head low so his long locks almost covered his face and his hands were balled tightly at his sides. Rick reversed back up the street and parked the squad car, while his partner began unfastening his seatbelt, "We need anything?"

"I don't think so", Rick turned the engine off and quickly got out of the car so that he could catch up with the teen, "Andre!"

Andre kept walking away with his back to them, making no attempt to turn back. Rick had to sprint through the rain to catch up with him, while the Corporal called out, "Hey young man! Stop there!"

Rick caught up with him and instinctively reached for his shoulder but as soon as he made contact, Andre spun around with a closed fist. Rick managed to move his head out the way in time but only just, "Hey! Hey! Wait a minute!"

"Hey!", The Corporal called as he joined them, "Calm down!"

"Wait! Stop!", Rick put his hand out to stop the other man while keeping his eyes on the teen, "Hey! It's just me! Carl's Dad!"

Andre backed away from him and kept his erratic gaze low as he bared his teeth. Tension made his shoulders square and he took smalls steps from side to side.

Rick tried to tilt his head and gain his undivided attention, "What happened?"

"Does he live around here?", The other officer asked as he looked up and down the street, squinting due to the rain.

"I'm not sure", Rick kept his hands up so that the upset teen could see them, "Andre? Can you tell me what happened? We're just trying to help. We're officers, we're meant to help you"

Andre made a sound that sounded like a distressed wail, his face contorted in either anger or frustration, "...They kept pushing me…"

"The boys?", Rick picked up on the change in his tone, it was a little higher and more strained, "Ethan? Sam? Randall?"

Andre took awhile to nod his head.

"...Carl?", Rick felt like it was necessary to ask, just so he could rest assured that his son had heard his message loud and clear.

Andre took a moment to shake his head.

Rick was relieved, "This was at the school? Did they take your stuff?"

He nodded again as he clenched his fists and spoke through gritted teeth, "...My book…They took my book…"

"Can we get him in the car?", The Corporal quizzed, "It's tearing it down out here!"

"Look, Andre, you see the police car?", Rick pointed back towards the vehicle, "That's mine. We wanna' get you in there and out the rain, and we can talk in there and I'll take you home, okay?"

Andre lifted his gaze to see the car, "...My book…"

"I'll make sure you get your book back, alright?"

Andre brought his hand up to his chest and began gathering the material, "...Am I bad?..."

"No. You're not bad and you're not in trouble, we just want to get you home safe", Rick assured, "And out of the rain"

He let go of his shirt but only to start pulling at it, "...I want my mom…"

"Your mom's coming. She's gonna' be with you soon", Rick pointed his hand towards his vehicle again, "Come on, it's alright, you're not in trouble"

The teen hesitated for several moments, and Rick thought he was going to walk off again when he turned around but he was simply pacing in the same spot. Rick was about to repeat his last request when Andre finally began to move with purpose. Rick and the Corporal walked behind him, and when they reached the squad car Rick let him in the back.

"Andre this is Corporal Douglas", Rick introduced the other officer once they were all in the vehicle, "But we call him Theodore"

"Theodore's just fine. T-Dog when I'm not in uniform. Where'd you live, son?", Theodore asked as he fastened his seatbelt, but Andre kept his head down.

"Andre?", Rick turned in his seat so that he could see him, "Where do you live?"

The teen still fussed with his shirt and rain dripped from the ends of his locks, "...Ormand street…"

"Ormand street?", Rick repeated incredulously as he sat back. He knew exactly where the street was because it wasn't far from his own home. Quite close actually, "That's a block away from me and Carl."

"Yeah? Small world", Theodore sighed, "You know his parents?"

"His mother. I actually only met her yesterday…", Rick peered in the rearview mirror to see Andre while he started the car, "Does someone usually pick you up from school, Andre?"

Andre had begun looking around the back of the car, "...Oscar"

"Oscar… Is that your father?", Rick peered at him again when he didn't get a reply but decided not to probe any further since it was clear to him that the teen was probably still trying to gather his thoughts.

He didn't doubt for one second that he was being bullied by the trio of young boys at school, but he didn't think it was this bad, and to make matters worse he was sure that Andre had some sort of difficulty socializing. He wasn't sure exactly what it was but he could see that he didn't interact with others in the usual way and Rick hadn't witnessed him make eye contact with anyone, not even his own mother. It gave him a better view of her plight.

"Do you think you can tell me what happened now, Andre?", Rick waited for a few minutes to pass before he asked the youngster for information, "Did you get out of school and they came up to you?"

Andre had stopped fussing with his shirt and had started looking out of the window with great interest.

"Andre?", Rick repeated himself, and Andre turned his head as an indication that he'd heard him, "Did boys came up to you when you were leaving school?"

"...They came up to me", He replied in his regular, monotone.

"And they started pushing you? Did they say anythan' to you?"

"...Bad words…They called me bad words…"

"The same words they called you before?", Ricks brows began to furrow as he appeared displeased.

"...Same words...They said suspended. They got suspended. It's my fault.", Andre's hand moved back up to his shirt again, "...They kept pushing me…"

Rick slowly nodded as he pieced the information together, "So they got suspended and was waiting for you outside of school, then they started pushing you… And they took your stuff?"

"...My book… they took my book…", Andre pursed his lips as he dropped his gaze from the window.

"Yeah. Your book. We're gonna' make sure you get all of your stuff back", Rick huffed and puffed as he took a shot a look in the Corporal's direction, "Can you believe that?"

"Hell yes", Theodore rolled his eyes as he shook his head, "The way that some of these kids behave…It doesn't even make any sense… If I ever hear that my boys are doing something like that when they get older, then they'd better run when they see me"

Rick quietly groaned, "Carl got involved with those kids. Started hanging out with them"

"What? Who? The boys that did this to him?", Theodore swung his head around to look at Rick, "There is no way in hell"

"Yeah. I don't know why or… well, I can figure out why but I just couldn't understand it. He said he didn't do anythan' when they were teasing him and I believe that, but that's the problem. He didn't do anythan' when they were teasing him so I guess Andre thought he was one of them…", Rick peaked at the teen through the rearview mirror, "They got into it yesterday after the boys threw somethan' at him. I made them shake hands this morning but I think it's gonna' take a whole lot more than that¬"

"You know it will", Theodore ejected flatly, "Was that how you met his mother?"

"Yeah. She made it clear that she thinks that am some kind of ass¬", Rick corrected himself, " _Idiot_. Some kind of idiot."

Theodore snickered at him, "Yeah, you better fix that."

When they finally arrived on the street that Andre lived on, the teen pointed to his home and Rick parked in front of the driveway. It was a very nice house with a forest green exterior and coffee brown piping and fixtures. Andre didn't waste any time getting out of the car and hurrying to his home while Rick and Theodore followed behind him.

The teen skipped up the porch steps and opened the door, where he was greeted by a rather large, excited German Shepherd. He fell to his knees and began petting her vigorously, "Good girl, Max"

"Oh, _hell_ no", Theodore spun around, "I'll wait for you in the car."

Rick began to chuckle at the officer as he watched make a bolt for the porch steps, "You can't be serious? I thought you liked¬"

The dog began to bark and the home shook. Rick immediately reached for his weapon on his waistband while Theodore burst into a high knee run back to the squad car. Rick took a step back while the shepherd stood in front of her master, "Uh, Andre¬"

"Come on, Max", Andre hopped up, left the front door open and ran up a flight of stairs. Fortunately for Rick, the dog followed.

"What's going on?", A tall, bald man with a deep skin tone came out from somewhere inside the home. He had a set of headphones around his neck and wore a t-shirt and sweatpants, "How'd you get in here? Where's the dog?"

"I'm Sergeant Grimes from the Kings County Sheriff's department", Rick stood up a little straighter, "There was an altercation between your son and three other boys when he left school. I found Andre wondering the streets, so myself and a fellow officer brought him home, he just ran up the stairs with the dog... I take it that you're Oscar?"

The man slowly nodded his head as he walked towards the entrance to his home, "Those little racist punks again?"

"...Yes. Apparently, they were suspended today and they came back to the school to wait for him. Took his bag, his book and his shoes. His shirt is ripped, and I couldn't see any cuts or bruises on him but I couldn't really get a good look"

Oscar sighed as he shook his head, "His mother's gonna' be out for blood"

Rick stared at him for several silent moments, only because he was expecting a more concerned reaction from him, possibly irate, "He said that you were meant to pick him up?"

The man rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, if I can then I will but he knows his way home. He usually gets in with no problem"

Rick peered at the staircase, "Well I'd like to advise you to collect him from this point on until we get this business with the other boys figured out"

Oscar sat his hands at his sides as his eyes traced RIck's shape, "I'll let his mother know."

"...Alright", Rick took another good look. He may not have been too alarmed because he hadn't seen the state that his son was in, though if Rick was in his shoes then he wouldn't need to see anything; he would have been scouring the streets for the culprits just based on what he'd heard, "You have a good evening, sir."

This was a situation that Rick just couldn't walk away from. Knowing that the troublesome trio had finally been given a serious punishment let him know that this problem was bigger than he initially believed, and the fact that they possibly waited for Andre to leave school to target him gave him even more reason to believe that he had to use his level of authority to intervene now, before it was too late.

"Carl? You just get in?", Rick put his call on speakerphone as pulled away from the Anthony's driveway.

"Yeah", His son answered breathlessly, "Did you see the rain? I had to run home"

"See it? We were in it", Theodore commented dryly as he plucked his damp shirt away from his body to emphasize his point.

"Oh, hey T-dog", Carl greeted cheerfully.

"Hey Carl, Listen, I need your help with something", Rick began to quiz him, "You know what happened today at your school? When you got out?"

"Yeah…I kinda' saw the end of it… I heard they took his things¬ but I think I found his stuff on the side of the road on my home", Carl informed cautiously, "Some shoes… and a backpack. It looks like they're his"

Rick's eyebrows sprung up, "Yeah? You got them with you?"

"Yeah, I brought them home with me."

Rick and Theodore shared a look of relief before he asked, "Do you know where any of those boys live?"

"No? Sorry. I never asked", Carl then perked up, "But Randall's dad has a hardware store in town? They said they hang out there sometimes?"

"Is it Smiths Hardware store?", Theodore added, "Come to think of it, I have seen a couple of kids messing around out there every now and then, sitting on their bikes and making noise"

"Let's give it a try.", Rick slowly inhaled, "Thanks, Carl, we might have to stop by the house to pick up his stuff in a little while but I'll be home the usual time"

"Alright. Bye."

"See ya' son", Rick took one hand off the steering wheel to tap his phone and end the call, "Smiths Hardware store…If not there then we'll check out any others"

"You know, while I can appreciate what you're doing", Theodore rubbed his hand over his head, "I actually have a mountain of paperwork sitting on that desk of mine, and I know that you do too because I left a bunch a bunch of reports on your desk this morning"

Rick cracked a smile, "I know, but I have to do this. I can't just leave it. They might not stop until someone steps in so… I have to. If you want me to drop you back at the department then I will¬"

"Oh no, I'm happy to come along with you. You're technically my boss, so any problems you have with this then you can just take it up with yourself.", Theodore began to chortle and so did Rick.

By the time that they got into town, the biblical rain had come to an end and they were safe to leave the vehicle without fear of getting drenched for the third time. Smiths hardware store was a rather small establishment with a dated decor. Rick entered first and made a beeline to the cashier counter, where an older man with round face and even rounder stomach was perched on a stool with a pair of reading glasses balancing on the end of his nose. His piercing green eyes rolled up to meet the officers, and he slowly sat up straight, "Afternoon. How can I help you, fellas?"

Rick inhaled, "I'm looking for Randall's father?"

"Yeah?", The man pulled off his glasses, "Well you're looking at him. What's going on?"

"...Is your son home?", Rick noticed a door behind the counter swung open to reveal a petite but voluptuous brunette woman who had an apron wrapped around her waist and held a plate in her hand. Rick slowly continued, "We'd like him to be present for this¬"

The woman's blue eyes widened, "What's going on? What happened?"

"They wanna' talk to me", The Man answered roughly, "About Randall"

The woman set the plate down on the counter in a hurry, "Lord, what on earth is this about? I can't handle another thang¬"

"Hush, women", The man snapped, "Go on, tell us"

"Well there was a¬", Before Rick could finish his sentence, they were all forced to listen to the loud chorus of heavy footsteps coming from somewhere behind the door, and when it flew open the three teens spilled into the shop front, laughing and joking until they spotted the officers. It was almost comical that the color drained from their faces. Rick cocked his head to one side as he eyed all three of them; one had a small red mark on the edge of his mouth while the other had a bruised cheek. As he suspected, Andre must have fought back, "This is perfect. All three of them can be present for this"

"For _what_?", The man behind the counter crossed his arms over his stomach, "What's going on?"

"I take it you were down at the school today to see Mrs. Monroe?"

"Oh, that's what this is about", The boy's father sneered, "No. My wife did. I had a store to run¬"

"They got kicked out of school for ten days for fooling around", The woman shot back angrily, "All three them"

"But we're all going to complain to the school district about this because how they've treated them boys is Goddamn disgrace", Randall's father declared, "They're messing with their education because of one boy and his damn mother"

Rick shook his head to show his disagreement, "These boys have taken it upon themselves to make another student's time at the school very difficult, including going back to there this afternoon and assaulting him and stealing his thangs"

Randall's mother shut her plump lips together tightly, while her husband dropped his hands to his sides as he stood up, "Now hold on a minute, there ain't no assaulting going on here. Its boys are just being boys and handling thangs the way they're meant to¬"

"Assault is assault and theft is theft, even if they just dumped the stuff on the side of the road. And it sounds like they attacked him in front of an audience too.", Rick looked towards the boys, "If the mother wants to press charges then she can."

Randall's mother gasped and slapped her hand to her full chest while his father raised his finger to Rick, "Well then we have every right to press charges, too. Hell, l we should sue that boy's parents as well! All of them have been out to get my son and we won't have that"

Rick eyebrows sprung up high in his forehead as he asked, "You think you have a chance taking the district attorney to court after everythan'? Do honestly believe for just one minute that you'd even get far with that?"

Theodore blew out a breath from behind him, and muttered, "Not even close"

"We ain't scared of nobody", The man countered firmly, while his wife looked at the back of his head with crazed eyes, "She hasn't even got proof that it was my boy¬"

"Finding proof wouldn't be the issue, and I have a feeling these boys know that", Rick shot Randall a fierce look, "It doesn't exactly look like a meeting of the minds over there"

The portly man huffed and puffed as he had slapped his thick fingers on the table, "So what exactly did you come over here for?"

"We're here to let you know that I don't doubt for one second that she probably won't think twice about pressing charges against them and we will have to bring them into the department and they can be tried as adults which mean they can serve time in jail. If by any chance she chooses not to then I'd hope that they take this as a warning…"

"So stay away from him, unless you want to know what the inside of a cell looks like", Theodore finished simply as his eyes scrutinized the teens, "And where's his book?"

The only blonde haired boy in the trio blurted out quickly, "The comic book? We threw it somewhere…"

Rick raised his eyebrows at them, while Randall's father perched back on his stool, "That don't mean _anything_. Could have been someone else's book that he's talking about¬"

"Be quiet! You just be quiet! I will not stand to see my family's name tarnished for another second!", Randalls mother's face pinched angrily as she shoved her husband out the way by his arm and opened the cash register, "You all just think it's one big joke but guess what? There ain't nothing funny about going to jail!"

"What the hell are you doing woman¬", Her husband tried to stand up but she pushed him back down.

"Be quiet John! I'm tired of you!", Randall's mother grabbed a few bills and slid them across the counter to Rick, "Can you make sure that this boy and his mother get this? From me¬"

"Darleen!", John tried to stand up but he was pushed back down again.

"I told you to be quiet!", Darleens face darkened as she shot him a deranged look, but presented the officers with a calm expression when she faced them again, "I want this to go away now. There's… one hundred and fifty there. Give it to the mother from me. If you could let her know that I'm trying my best with what I got then I'd appreciate it. Now please, I don't wanna' hear anymore about this."

Rick peered back at the Corporal and they were able to share a look that suggested, ' _it will do_ '.

One hundred and fifty dollars didn't seem like much of consultation for everything that Andre had been through, but Rick hoped that the teen would at least enjoy spending it on more comic books. He also hoped that his warning to Ethan, Randall, and Sam would be enough to stop them in their tracks if they were ever tempted to cause trouble again, but he was prepared to stay on their backs until they stopped.

Theodore happily tagged along with him when he went back to his home to fetch Andre's belongings from Carl, and Rick made sure to let his son know that he did a well retrieving them from the roadside, even if it didn't seem like much. It was an indication to him that Carl was trying to make better and kinder choices. If there was one thing that his son didn't want to be known as then it was a bully, and Rick believed that he was going to do anything he could to change that.

His quest finally came to an end on the Anthony's front porch. The dog's bark rocked the house from the moment Rick's foot touched the first step, so by the time he raised his fist to knock on the door, it swung open and Andre's mother stood before him. She was leaning forward ever so slightly as she held the large dog by the collar, wearing black soft pants and a black tank top, with her long dark dreads swept over to one side of her head. She looked exhausted.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Anthony", Rick didn't need a second to read the woman's mood, "Hope I didn't catch you at a bad time but uh… Here"

Her tawny pupils fell to the bag and sneakers that he held out, and her thin brows knitted, "...You got them back?"

"No. Carl found them on his way home from school".

"Inside, Max", She ordered quietly to the dog as she released her hold on the collar, but the dog still hovered nearby while she took her son's belongings from Rick, "...Well thank you, and tell your son¬"

"Don't thank me just yet", Rick reached into his back pocket and pulled out the folded bills, "And that's from Randall's mother, for the comic book they took from him and for a new shirt"

Mrs. Anthony's frown only intensified, "She _gave_ that to you?"

"Yeah. I think she might be the only one over there with a little sense and she told me to let you know that she's doing the best with what she's got", Rick scratched his brow with his thumb, "And the boys were there so we let them know that we're watching them"

Her full lips parted as if she was going to say something, when Oscar's voice boomed from inside, "Michonne! Who is it?"

Rick repeated her name in his mind. He saw a look of annoyance flash across her face as she peaked back inside of her home, but expression smoothed when she faced him again, "...You brought him home?"

"Yeah. He was over by, uh… Peach street. I was heading back with another officer when we heard about it and I saw him", Rick rubbed the back of his neck, "He said that they got suspended today and I found out that that was true, then they went back and waited for him"

Mrs. Anthony appeared pained as she dropped her gaze the things in her hand.

"...Is he alright now?", Rick asked gently, "He looked a little better when he got him back here…"

She nodded her head hurriedly, "He's got a little… a little gash on his eyebrow but... he's in his room. Reading."

Rick shifted his stance. He felt so uncomfortable that he didn't know what to do with himself, "...I let them all know that they could get in serious trouble because of this. I let Randall's parents know that, too. Now if you'd like to press charges then I'm sure you know how to go about that…"

"Yeah. I know.", Her eyes glistened as she avoided looking at him, "Thank you for bringing him back. And for getting his stuff."

"It's no problem at all", He kept his hands at his sides to avoid fidgeting, "...I'm sorry for not realizing just how big of a problem this must have been for you. I just didn't want my son to be grouped in with those boys and I didn't mean to ignore Andre in all of that."

"...Thanks for that, too", She sniffed as she adjusted her hold on her son's backpack, "Appreciate it"

"No problem… He's actually a pretty tough kid.", Rick found himself trying to lighten the mood, "I think I caught him off guard earlier… When I caught up with him¬ he, uh… Almost punched me"

Her eyes widened to show her shock.

" _Almost_. I mean he came very close, and I have a feeling that it would have really hurt if it landed but… I know that he was probably just scared", Rick regretted saying anything further, "But yeah, he's a tough kid."

Mrs. Anthony's gaze flickered all over his face as if she were trying to figure out if there was something wrong with him.

Rick cleared his throat as he began backing away, "Alright. Well have a good evening"

"...Thanks. You too."

He turned and skipped down the steps of the porch, feeling a little awkward. Hearing her sons versions of events confirmed to her was obviously upsetting, but Rick wasn't expecting to see her almost on the verge of tears. That tough exterior he'd seen in Mrs. Monroes office had been worn down. He would have assumed that her husband would comfort her after such a long day but Rick had spotted several little clues that suggested otherwise.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

"So I take it that you're happy with your purchases?"

Michonne looked at her son with loving eyes as they sat on a bench in the middle of the park. She'd picked a beautiful day to do something; there wasn't a cloud in sight and the sun beamed high in the sky. Other residents of Kings County didn't want to miss out of the fun either, and most had picnics and played games around them, but Andre was much more interested in his new stack of comic books.

Michonne repeated herself, and he let her know that she had caught her attention by slightly turning his head in her direction. She sighed as she brushed Maximillion thick black fur with her fingers as the dog laid across both of them, "So now you're going to hide away in those books?"

She saw his eyes drift away from the page before he lowered his new comic book, "...Sorry"

"It's okay, I just want to talk to you for a little while and then I'll leave you to read until your heart is content", Which was true; she would let him read his books while she read hers, since she was dying to dive into the Romance novel she'd found in the store. She reached up and brushed a few dreads over his shoulder, "...I'm going to talk to Mrs. Monroe on Monday, and I'm going to make sure that they start taking steps to getting those boys expelled from school…"

Andre stared at the grass in front him, "...It's my fault"

"No. It's not your fault", She insisted tenderly, "It's not your fault at all. It's their fault because they chose to behave that way, no one else is to blame for that besides them, okay?"

He continued to stare ahead of him, "Okay."

"...Do you think you'll like going to school if they aren't there?"

"...Yes…", He answered rather easily, "...I like school"

"Yeah? What do you like about it?", She probed gently.

"...The teachers are nice…", Andre began to look up and around, "...I like the library… I like my chemistry class and calculus class… I like lunch…"

Michonne giggled at his last answer, "Lunch, too?"

Andre nodded his head as his gaze trailed up to the tree nearby, "...Yes."

She huffed as she crossed one leg over the other, "Well, that makes me happy because I want you to be happy wherever you are, and if you're not then you can tell me. We can figure something out together."

Andre dropped his attention back to the grass, "...Finn doesn't go to school but he's still a superhero…"

"You know why that is? Because he has a big heart like you do", She cupped her hand under his chin, "And I think you'd make an awesome superhero"

His awkward smile made an appearance, "There are no princesses for me to save in Kings County"

"Alright, let's hold off on looking for princesses for a few more years", She smirked.

He turned his head towards her, "Will girls like me?"

Michonne paused for a moment, "Girls might like you now and you don't even know it"

He squinted his eyes for a second, "...They don't talk to me..."

"They might be shy. It's not easy to talk to someone when you think they're cute", She reasoned softly, "It can be really scary"

Andre looked one way then another, "...I'm not scary"

"No. You're very sweet, but what's with all this talk about girls? Is there a girl at school that you like?", Michonne narrowed her eyes at him.

"...No. I don't think that any of them read comics."

Michonne erupted with laughter. Her son's rather simplistic view of socializing was often sobering and humorous at the same time. She wished that she could view life the way he did, because maybe then she wouldn't overthink situations the way she often did.

The weekends gave them a chance to spend uninterrupted time together. Sometimes she'd wish that Oscar joined them, but other times she didn't. That weekend she didn't. He was hidden away in his studio when they finally arrived home, and Michonne hoped that he'd stay in there until she was ready to talk to him, and the time finally came shortly after they'd finished dinner together that night.

As always he'd eat his meal with his phone in hand. Completely engrossed in whatever was on the screen and only looking up when he thought it was necessary. Michonne would watch him from the corner of her eye every now and then, asking herself how they'd slipped into such tiresome point in their marriage, especially after only nine years together. However, the love was still there and she'd be lying to herself if she thought otherwise but she had to think hard to remember a time where they were inseparable. She had to think hard to remember a time when she actually wanted to talk to him. After finding out that he hadn't picked her son up from school the previous day, she was still livid with him and ready to finally confront the elephant in the room.

He was about to leave the table when she spoke up, "We need to talk…"

Oscar peered down at her as he picked up his plate, "About what?"

"About yesterday", She said firmly, "About the fact that you didn't pick up Andre from school"

Oscar groaned as he set his plate back down, "Do you know how many times he's made it home on his own without any problems?"

"I don't want to know because those would be all the times that you were meant to pick him up!", She snapped, "Look what happened yesterday?"

"That was the only time¬"

"No it was not and you know it's not! All of that could have been avoided if you just did what you were meant to do!", She had to stop herself. They had only said a few words to each other and were quickly spiraling into a full-blown argument. She folded her arms over her chest as she sat back in her seat, "If you're done with being a stepfather and a husband then you let me know now because I am tired of playing this game with you"

Oscars face crumbled to show his confusion, "Excuse me? If I'm done with being a stepfather and husband? What about you? You stopped being my wifea long time ago!"

"When? How?"

"When you started barging through that door at the end of the day and bringing your work home with you", Andre pointed his finger to the old oak table, "You stopped talking to me like your husband and started talking to me like one of those fools you work with¬"

"I can't believe this. Why do we have to get into an argument for you to start telling me how you really feel?", She squinted at him, "Why does it always have to come to this¬"

"Because you brought it up. I stopped trying to talk to you a long time ago because you stopped listening¬"

"You stopped listening, too. You can't put this all on me", She looked him dead in the eye, "That's not fair"

"You wanna' know what's not fair?", He sat back down in his seat and turned his body towards her, "The fact that I've worked just as hard as you but don't even get half the credit"

It was her turn to look confused, "What?"

"You heard me. Anybody who walks through that door says' the same thing; ' _Oh, what a beautiful home you have_ ', and who do they look at? You. Even though I'm the one that put this all together and I'm the one the keeps it together! When we used to go to those little snooty events and those stuck up people would look at you like you were the best thing to walk through those doors and like I'm just some idiot that's tagging along for the ride, when I was the one supporting you when things got tough and I was the one pushing you to keep going when you wanted to throw it all away!"

Michonne kept her lips sealed as he vented.

"The same thing happens with Andre; you get all the credit for that boy when I've been there right beside you throughout it all while his father is running around in New York, more focussed on his business than his son", Oscar scoffed at his own statement, "He used to look at me, _too_. He actually used to talk to me but as soon as things between us got bad you put yourself between us and you reminded me that he ain't mine¬"

"I put myself between the two of you because of you and your attitude", She shot back fiercely, "Whenever you and I had an argument then you would talk to him like it was his fault and like he'd done something wrong when the problem was between us! It's like you forget that you're meant to be an example to him! You're meant to make him feel like no matter what happens between us, you will always be there for him, but you don't. You make it pretty loud and clear that there's a divide in this house and you're on one side and he's on the other."

Oscar sat back in his chair and averted his cold stare elsewhere, and it gave Michonne a chance to release the breath she'd been holding. He took his time to reply, "So what do you suppose we do about all of this? Where do we go from here because I'm done playing this game too? You're not the only one that's fed up"

"I don't know. I… I just know that I can't continue on like this. Things are just getting worse and… I hate coming home to you. I hate trying to talk to you and the way you make your little snide comments, I hate hearing you stomp around here, I hate feeling the bed move when you get in it and I hate leaving here every day because I know that you'll be here when I get back and I don't want to feel that anymore", Her eyes began to sting, "And I know you feel the same way too, so if this is it then... that's it"

Heavy creases formed above his brow as he frown at her, "You want this to be it?"

She threw one of her hands up as the first tear rolled free, "No! Of course I don't but I can't keep putting myself through this and more importantly, I can't keep putting Andre through this. My household is getting more and more toxic by the day and I'm tired of it and I don't even know what to do about it, but I don't want this to be it"

"Well, I don't either", He checked himself and softened his tone, "I know what I've said, and I still stick by all of it but… I thought all this would just fix itself one day. Marriage isn't easy and people go through worse but they still come out the other side and I thought that would happen here"

"Well, it won't. It's not easy but we're meant to work on it. It neither of us is happy then nothing will change if we don't try to change it", She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "So are you willing to try?"

Oscar looked down his nose at her as he nodded his head, "...I am if you are"

Michonne couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Not just because he agreed to work on their marriage, but because she was sick of feeling as though the end was near. They were pushing their expiry date further away and it put her at ease. She gave him a nod in return, "I am."

It was a small step but it was one in the right direction, so either of them could go back now. They had acknowledged that they were in a rough spot and they'd both agreed that they wanted to change that, so Michonne could only see two outcomes on the horizon; they either stuck to their word and things got better, or they both fall short and slip back into their old ways, but she wouldn't let the latter happen a second time. The tension had been lifted from her home the moment they made their agreement and she wanted it to stay that way.

They still went about their day as they usually would but with a little more care behind their actions. She decided she would make a conscious effort to thank him more for the things he did because he didn't receive any praise from her unless one of his projects was a success. She always suspected that bothered him but she didn't realize just how big of an issue it was for him so she was going to take it seriously, and she hoped that he would take her complaints into consideration too. She wanted to see him start to show her son interest and affection again, and she wanted to see him behave like the great step-father that he had once been. Andre did use to look at him and he did use to talk to him, and if Oscar could get involved with the teen again then Michonne wouldn't feel as though she were a single parent to him anymore.

When Monday finally rolled around, the family started the day off well; Oscar made a generous breakfast that morning, and they all enjoyed it together. He looked pleased with himself when she and Andre thanked him. He then took Maximillion for a walk while they set off for school and work. They even said 'Goodbye' to each other, which was something that hadn't been done in months and it felt a little strange but she had to get used to speaking with him again.

She had intended to speak with Mrs. Monroe after dropping Andre to class but she was informed by the older woman's secretary that the principal hadn't arrived yet and she simply couldn't wait but was sure to leave a scathing message with the young woman to pass on to the head of the school. The special program for the kids was due to start that day and since Michonne had agreed to go, she had to get to work on time since she was still expected to take over the previous district attorneys cases effortlessly, so she couldn't wait around to hear Mrs. Monroe's excuses.

"God, sorry I'm late!", Carol announced breathlessly as she ran up to the office door with disheveled clothes, "I think I broke my alarm clock when I threw it last week… because I woke up and it said it was four… so I went back to sleep… and then I woke up again a while later… and it still said four...and I thought, ' _huh_?'...So I looked for my watch… and it was definitely not four"

Michonne watched the silver-haired woman with a highly amused smile as she lowered a sheet of paper to her desk, "It's okay, Carol"

She threw herself against the doorframe, "You'd think I ran all the way here but… I just ran from my car. I'm _so_ out of shape"

Michonne giggled at her, "It's fine¬ Oh, by the way, I'm going to be leaving early today, remember?"

"Oh yeah! Oh, how's Andre? Was he alright?", Carol began to pull off her jacket as she stepped into the office, "What happened?"

Michonne clasped her hands in front of her, "He got attacked by those boys after school. They were suspended and they blamed him so they went after him"

Carol gasped as she sat down in a huff, "God, really? Did anyone stop them or¬"

"I still don't know what completely happened, I went in to see Mrs. Monroe this morning but she wasn't there yet so I left her one hell of a message because I want those boys out of that school and in a prison cell", Michonne fumed, "They took his shoes and his backpack and he… he ran off…Someone had to call the police"

Carol looked at her with wide, shocked eyes, "Where'd they find him? Was he okay?"

"He was okay when I got home. A little annoyed but he'd calmed down and just wanted to stay in his room...The Sergeant said he found him over by Peach Street…", Michonne slowly began to deflate, "He brought him home… Then brought his shoes and his backpack, too. He said his son found them… And one of the boy's mother gave him money for any damages…"

Carol eyebrows gravitated upward, "Oh?"

"Yeah.", Michonne averted her gaze elsewhere.

"Well, I really do hope they sort those boys out. You should press charges, that will teach them a lesson", Carol urged with her pointer raised, "They shouldn't get away with this… And I'm glad that Rick stepped in. That should have scared them…"

"Yeah...Well, If Mrs. Monroe doesn't exclude them after this then everyone will have hell to pay¬", Michonne let her gaze fall to the papers in front of her just as her cell phone rang. She leaned closer to it see who was calling, then growled when she saw it was the academy, "Speak of the devil"

Carol sucked air between her teeth as she hopped up from her seat, "I'll leave you to it"

"Mrs. Anthony speaking?", Michonne pressed the device to her ear as she watched the secretary leave the room.

"Hello, Mrs. Anthony. It's Mrs. Monroe", The older woman sounded as though she was trying to sound cheerful, "I received your message this morning but I had some urgent matters to attend to before I called you back"

"I hope those urgent matters involved finding out what happened to my son?"

"Yes, they did. I was able to gather accounts of what had happened yesterday afternoon from several people, students, and faculty members included and there's a great deal of consistency from them all. I also spoke with the Sheriff's department, particularly the Sheriff who informed me that he was the one that took Andre home after the incident¬"

"What are you planning to do with the boys?", Michonne spoke with some degree of edge to her tone, "That's what I need to know first"

Mrs. Monroe cleared her throat, "Yes. I've passed all the information I could get to the members of the school board and we've arranged for a meeting to commence this week, involving all three students and their parents. The plan of action that I have in mind does involve expulsion. I know you may find this difficult to believe but we do not tolerate the behavior that these students have exhibited towards Andre and this matter has now escalated into something quite repulsive so we will not accept that. I apologize to you and to Andre for not tackling the situation with more vigor earlier"

Michonne felt relief sweep over her for a second time. She still couldn't think about her son's attack without a heavy heart and to witness him walk into school with his head down that morning pained her. He often used his hair as a shield to block out everything and everyone else, but knowing that he wouldn't have to do that anymore because his tormentors would no longer be in his presence made her ecstatic. She dabbed the corners of her eyes as she giggled deliriously, "Thank you so much, I appreciate that, Mrs. Monroe. I understand that it must be so _difficult_ to keep up with everything that goes on in a high school, and while I believe that you always tried to best to help my son, I'm afraid that your best wasn't good enough because I'm _still_ suing."

Needless to say, her conversation with Mrs. Monroe ended on a frosty note, but she was pleased to learn that the Sergeant was still offering his services somehow. After returning her son and his belongings, and paying a visit to the parents of her son's tormentors, she didn't think he could do any more to improve the rotten situation. It was hard for her to believe that she was finally receiving any kind of help after having her complaints fall on deaf ears for so long. The fact that that help came from the Sergeant and his son only made it a little harder to swallow but she couldn't continue to think badly of either of them from that point and she had to be civil when in their company.

"Hello and welcome to Just Partners! We're glad to see that you both could make it! Now I'm just going ask you to sign in here, then take one of these clipboards and fill this in while we wait to get started. It's just asking for a little background information about our students and the reason why you're here"

Michonne plastered a fake smile on her face as she did what she was told by the young, friendly blonde girl behind the front desk. Andre stood beside her, looking around the center with just as much disinterest on his face as she felt, "...Mom, take me home"

She glanced back at him, "We can do this, it might not be that¬"

"Home."

She signed them in and then took a clipboard, "Where should we¬"

"The seats are just around this corner", The girl gestured in the direction with her hand as her eyes darted from one person to the other, "We're just waiting on a few more students but we will be getting started shortly"

Although Michonne had tried her best to convince her son that the program would be a fun one, even she struggled to appear amused by the yellow and blue posters and banners they'd hung up everywhere that showed groups of young people smiling and laughing as they jumped for joy. Even if her son wanted to express such excitement, it was highly unlikely to stem from Just Partners.

Andre groaned at her when she nudged him to walk, "...Take me home"

"I can't", She replied quietly, "I said we'd do this so we have to"

He pursed his lips together definitely as he walked closer and closer to the wall.

"Come on, the sooner we do this the quicker it will all be over", She sighed, but Andre had stopped walking so she turned to face him, "Please, Andre?"

He turned his back to her and she groaned.

"We agreed that we'd do this so you wouldn't have to get suspended", Michonne reminded him, "And we agreed that we'd do this so we can go and get ice cream after and I am really looking forward to that, Andre"

She hoped that by reminding him of their special agreement her son would cave, but all he did was cover his ears with his hands.

"Are you blocking me out?", Michonne asked with disbelief as she tried to stand directly in front of him, but he turned the other way. She threw up her hands in a huff, "What about _ice-cream_?"

Andre kept his hands planted firmly over his ears and faced the wall.

"Alright", Michonne set down her purse on the floor, then slid down the wall until she landed with a bump, "Get it out of your system"

She knew to expect some sort of reaction from him at some point in the afternoon but she thought that it would be a request to do an activity that would set him off, however, she wasn't going to argue with him because that never solved anything, so she began filling in the form she was given while her son continued to shut the rest of the world out.

"They're asking what your biggest strengths are...", She did still speak to him though, "I would say that you are… Intelligent... Able to work alone... Passionate…And you love to learn"

Andre didn't respond.

"And now they're asking for examples of something you need to work on…", Michonne tipped her head to one side as she thought, "Team-working skills… Versatility… and you could work on your patience with people. You can't just walk off in the middle of a conversation¬"

"Mrs. Anthony. Andre", The Sergeant's voice came from nearby, and Michonne looked up to see him walking in his direction with his son, "Good afternoon"

"...Good afternoon", Michonne replied politely as she noticed that he seemed to walk with a great sense of authority; He wore a black uniform and looked so put together that she would have assumed that he'd only just gotten dressed. His son, on the other hand, was sporting more comfortable attire; jeans, a t-shirt and a plaid button down.

They both slowed down when they were close enough, and the Sergeant asked, "Everythan' alright?"

She peaked at her son from the corner of her eye, then answered, "Fine. Just... Not in a rush to go in there".

He smirked as he glanced at his son, "He's not the only one"

"...Uh", Michonne looked at Carl and remembered that he'd been the one to collect Andre's belongings for him after the incident. She wanted to prompt her son to thank him personally, so she reached out and tugged on his pants gently, but all Andre did be step away from her. She inhaled deeply as she turned back to the other teen, "Andre would like to thank you for helping to return his things. He appreciates it."

Carl's dark brows rose, and he hurriedly nodded his head as he dropped his gaze, "It's okay."

"How's everythan' going with that?", His father asked as he softly tapped the clipboard against his thigh, "Did you talk to Mrs. Monroe?"

"I did", Michonne replied coolly, "And she's dealing with things a lot better now"

He raised his eyebrow at her, "Good"

Michonne sensed movement beside her, and when she looked at her son she saw that he had dropped his hands to his sides. He pursed his lips one more time before speaking, "...Take me home"

"...After we do this, we get ice-cream, remember?", Michonne reminded him gently as she was about to get on her feet, but the chance of her standing up gracefully was slim. Her pants were too tight and the back of her heels was already digging into her ankle, but she didn't have to look the fool in front of the Sergeant and his son because he held out a hand for her. She hated to think how meek she must have looked when she accepted his help, and before she knew it she was on her feet as he lifted her in one swift motion with very little effort. She quickly let go of his hand and smoothed down her blouse, "Thank you"

"No problem. See you guys in there", The Sergeant guided his son away, giving her and Andre the privacy they needed.

"I know you don't want to do this…", Michonne placed herself in front of her son, "But you might really enjoy this and you won't know that unless you give it a try. And you won't be doing this alone, I'm going to be here with you every step of the way. I can't wait for everyone in there to see what a cool guy you are."

Andre rolled his big brown eyes up to meet hers, "...Am I cool?"

"The coolest", She grinned as she cupped his chin in her hands, "Do you think I'm cool?"

Andre nodded his head, "Yeah."

"Great, so let's go in there because we can handle this... and then we can go and eat because I am still looking forward to that ice-cream"

Andre lowered his gaze again, "...Okay."

When they finally made it around the corner, they saw a small handful of parents sat with their children on either side of the hall, which came to an end by two wooden doors. Michonne took a seat and Andre followed, while the Sergeant and his son had already done the same. Everyone waited quietly and had quiet discussions amongst themselves as a few more people joined them, and after a total of fourteen children had arrived one of the doors finally opened, and another blonde haired woman stepped into view, already smiling from ear to ear, "Good afternoon, everyone! Glad you all could make it!"

The group murmured a greeting back to her.

She held a clipboard to her chest as she acknowledged all the faces in front of her, "It looks like everybody's here, so why don't we get you all inside so we can get started!"

The first blonde collected the clipboards from the parents as they poured into the hall that was split into two halves; one half had seats shaped in a giant circle, while the other had a group of tables with four chairs around each one. They were directed to the circle of seats first and everyone found a place while the second blonde placed herself in the middle of them all, "Welcome again everyone! My name is Andrea and I will be the head coordinator for the full duration of the program, and I just have to say that It really is great that you all made it because this will be so beneficial to each and every one of you. Just partners was formed to help students work on their relationships with their peers and parents, and to build friendships amongst you all"

Michonne took a peek at her son and saw him looking around again, so she placed her hand on his knee to remind him not to lose himself in his thoughts.

"We have a broad range of activities planned for you guys that have been picked out by our highly trained school officials, and these activities have been proven to strengthen bonds and create trust amongst players. We've included tasks that focus on the students working together alongside each other and their parents, as well as tasks that encourage students to communicate better with their peers and their parents, too", Andrea walked around in small circles as she spoke, looking from one person to another, "Now I don't want to drone on for too long and bore you all to deaf so why don't we get started on getting to know each other first, since you will be spending the next four weeks in each others company, so I'd like you all to just go around and introduce yourself, and share with the rest of us who you're here with… so who'd like to go first?"

Even though Andrea said that she didn't want to bore them, it was certainly what she was doing. After they all introduced themselves to each other, she went right back to talking about what they could expect from the first activity. It was pretty straightforward; the students took a seat at the tables with their parents, along with the peer that they'd had conflict with and their parent. Michonne didn't understand why that required a further five-minute discussion. By the time she had finished speaking, everyone jumped out of their seats as if they were happy to get away from her.

"Alright, so you boys have to find common ground by sharing a little about yourselves. Who wants to go first?", The Sergeant spoke first once they'd sat down at a table. He looked back and forth between Andre and Carl, and both teens only paid attention to things below eye level. The Sergeant sighed, "...I had a feeling this would happen so why don't I go first"

Carl's eyes shot up to meet his father's face, "...Uh¬"

"It's alright, I won't embarrass you", He gave him a crooked smile, "Well…Carl and I like to go fishing, or take a hike over at the reservoir park…um, I like to cook and get some woodwork done when I can… nothing exciting just small things I can put around the house and yard... and…"

"...Your car", Carl added quietly.

"Yeah, that's right, I'm bought an old Chevy a few months ago that I'm trying to restore", The Sergeant tapped his hand on the table, "And yeah, that's about it."

Michonne slowly nodded her head as she absorbed the brief summary of the man, "That's great"

"Thanks", He nudged his son, "Go on, your turn"

Carl's cheeks began to flame. He sat up awkwardly in his seat, "Uh… Yeah, we hike and… fish…I help my dad cook sometimes... I play video games and I read also, and… that it"

Michonne glanced at her son, hoping he at least looked as though he was paying attention but he had found a tiny stain on his pants that marveled him. She gave Carl a small smile, "That's great, too. Andre actually enjoys reading a lot, too…"

Her son stopped scratching the stain when he heard his name but didn't look up.

"Okay, well I'll go next…", She began picking her brain for interesting things to say about herself that didn't revolve around her work, "Well, we spend a lot of time in the bookstore because we both like to read and we like to go to the park or stay in and watch movies… sometimes we'll go for a run with our dog, Maximillion, and...that's¬"

"You dance a lot", Andre mumbled beside her.

Her eyes widened slightly, "Yes… I do dance a lot… around the house¬ but that's all."

The sergeant and his son both nodded their heads at the same time that their eyes rolled over to Andre. Michonne gave his leg a tap to spur him on, and her son turned his head away from her, so she tapped him again and again until he groaned out of compliance, "...I like Adventure Time comics and the TV show but I like the comics more. I like calculus and chemistry. I like my dog Maximillion, she's a German Shepherd and she's two years old and she likes sleeping in my bed. I like watching movies with my mom because she lets me pick what we watch..."

"Well, Carl reads comic books too", The sergeant peaked at his son, "Don't you Carl?"

Andre lifted his head ever so slightly, while Carl agreed, "Yeah… Mostly Batman but I've heard of Adventure time. That's the one with the boy and the dog, right?"

"...Yes. Finn the human and Jake the dog. They're superheroes and adventurers who protect the land of Ooo", Andre perked up a little, "And they save princesses from the Ice King and stop the Lich from destroying all life"

Carl blinked at him, "Sounds cool. Have you read Batman?"

"...No."

"Well, he's a superhero, too…"

Michonne watched the exchange with a baited breath. The boys had obviously found a topic that they both enjoyed and were easing themselves into a discussion about their prized interest. She tried to keep her expression neutral but she could feel the corner of her lips tugging up into a smile.

"...So, you dance?", The Sergeant queried cooly as he rested his forearms on the table, "To what?"

Michonne tore her focus away from the boys. She waved her hand dismissively as she answered him, "...Oh, just… Some old stuff every now and then…Prince, Lionel Richie… stuff like that"

His eyes flickered all around her face, "Sounds good. You have any records?"

A line appeared between her brows, "Records?...No. Everything's digital now"

He frowned at her, but kept a faint smile on his face, "That's not the same. I'm sure you've heard them on a record player at one point in your life so you know what I mean"

"But the quality is better", She countered easily.

"It is, I won't deny that but it's all a little too perfect. When you hear that pin touch the record and you get that static for the first few seconds… It takes you back. Even if you weren't around when everybody was using them; everyone knows that sound and it makes us feel nostalgic"

Michonne let her gaze sail away from him as she reluctantly agreed, "Well, maybe there's _some_ truth to that."

The Sergeant checked on Andre and Carl, then looked back at her with his electric blue eyes. The sun's rays poured through the window and made it seem as though lightning strikes were dancing around his pupils, "Would I be allowed to call you Michonne?"

His question wasn't an unusual one as most people would ask such a thing when they were getting to know someone, but it was the way he asked for permission to use her name that made it feel more personal than usual. She shrugged one her shoulders so she could appear nonchalant about it, "That's fine by me"

"Great.", His eyes didn't leave her face, "You can call me Rick if you like"

Michonne inhaled deeply and discreetly, "Okay."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

"Poor lady had a whole meth lab in her basement and she didn't even know it. She's ninety-two years old. Do you know how much drugs I plan to do when I'm ninety-two years old? A lot. Apparently, she spends most of her time in front of the television so she didn't realize what her son was doing down there… And well, she's almost blind so she probably couldn't see what he was doing anyway"

Rick surveyed the complicated apparatus set up around the spacious basement as he asked, "Where's the son?"

"At work over at the Pawnshop. We sent two officers over there already", Leon explained as he placed himself beside Rick, "The old lady's support worker alerted us. Said she came down here when the power went out and found this¬"

"Did somebody alert Lambert? His division should be down here taking care of thangs", Rick took a peek at his wristwatch and noted the time.

"Yeah, someone got him on the phone before you got down here, he should be here soon", Leon sighed as he looked at Rick, "They're checking out his bedroom on the top floor"

"Alright. I'm gonna' talk to the lady of the house."

The culprit's mother's home gave Rick a warm feeling. It reminded him of being back at his grandmother's. The decor was dated, but clean and tidy. There was a scent of old wood in the air and lace on almost everything; the curtains, the table clothes, and the table runners. He liked it.

The grey-haired woman was sat in an old recliner that was placed directly in front of the television. She was petite with pale skin and glasses thick glasses, and in spite of having several officers moving around her home, she had a pleasant smile on her face as she gazed around mindlessly.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Mable, my name is Sergeant Grimes", Rick got on one knee in front of her, "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm doing just fine!", Mrs. Mable chirped as she looked in a completely different direction, "Nice to meet you, officer!"

Rick cleared his throat, hoping that would make her realize that she was looking in the wrong direction but it didn't seem to work, "Alright… Well, ma'am, I'm sure you've been made aware that you have a substantial amount of narcotics being made in your basement, and we have reason to believe that your son may be supplying them¬"

"Oh dear", Mrs. Mable placed her frail hand on her chest, "Not my darling?"

Rick gave her an apologetic look, even though she couldn't see him, "I'm sorry. We will be taking him to the department with us today but do you have any other family members or friends that could stay with you while he's gone?"

"No, afraid not", The woman sighed, "My oldest boy doesn't live around here no more, he had to leave town when his boss found out that he as messing around with his daughter… and my husband ran off years ago with his secretary… my sister's been in jail for the last ten years for trying to poison her fiance… and my nephew's been on the run from the FBI for a while now… so I'm afraid my family's rather busy, officer"

Rick continued to stare at Mrs. Mable long after she finished speaking. He was stunned. He stood up straight and offered her kindly, "Would you like to me make a call to your care providers and see if they could send someone over?"

"Yes, please… uh, their number should be beside the phone", Mrs. Mable pointed her trembling finger at the side table beside her, where there were pills, a phone, a remote control and a glass of water within reach.

Rick moved closer to it and saw a white card sticking out from beneath the phone, "Alright, hold on a second"

"Yes, sir"

Rick plucked the card free and had lifted the phone off the hook when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He slid his gaze back to the older woman just as she pulled out a sawn-off shotgun from beneath the thick, red blanket that covered her legs. He lunged for it just as she pulled the trigger and the shots went straight through the ceiling.

Everyone within view ducked as Rick wrestled the gun out of her hands, "Let go of the weapon!"

"She had that?! _Where_?!", Theodore questioned as he had his own gun in his hands.

Rick yanked the blanket away from her legs to see if she had anything else hidden away, but luckily it was just the one shotgun. He sighed as he eyed the woman, "Well, it looks like you won't have to worry about who will stay with you tonight"

"Oh kiss my ass, you toenail biting bitch!", The woman snapped back, "You think I'm afraid to go back to jail?"

Theodore's eyes widened as he looked at the back of the woman's head, while Rick used his thumb to point at her, "Someone get her down to the department…And pat her down first".

"I dare one of you pigs to put your hands on me", The woman warned as she struggled to look at the officers from her in her seat, "I'll bite a limp dick right off!"

Luckily for Rick, it wasn't the first time that he'd been shot at so he was able to shake the incident off rather easily. He made sure that no one was harmed on the top floor of the home before realizing what time it was. He left Theodore in charge of the operation and left to collect Carl from school so they could make it to his after-school programme, which Rick had actually enjoyed the previous day and he was sure that his son did too.

Ever since his wife's suicide, Carl had lost all confidence in himself. Gone were the days that his son would throw himself into new situations with a great big smile on his face. He used to have such an insatiable curiosity for everything and his mother fed that need. Rick had come to the conclusion that he allowed his son to hide away for far too long after her death so engaging with others again wouldn't be as easy as it was before.

"How was your day?", Rick waited until his son was strapped in his seat before taking off up the street, "Did you talk to Andre at all?"

"It was good… And no", Carl replied, "I didn't really see him?"

"Oh, alright. But you had a good day?"

"Yeah… It was okay. There's a dance coming up…"

Rick's light brows sprung up in surprise, "Oh?"

"Yeah", Carl seemed to groan his words, "...They told us today and everyone kept talking about it"

Rick glanced at his son, "...You don't wanna' go?"

Carl shook his head adamantly, "...No. I think I'll sit this one out."

"Well, maybe don't write it off just yet. You only just heard about it today so… think about it. You might change your mind", Rick suggested gently, "...You might decide to go and have a great time"

Carl gave his father the most unimpressed look.

Rick smirked, "Alright. Maybe not but… think about it at least…"

"...Can we see mom today?"

Rick bit his lip as his smile faded away, "Uh, yeah… we can, but how about when we're done? We're actually running a little late"

"Okay."

They made it to the Lenux center in complete silence, and not the comfortable kind either. Rick was beginning to hope that the after-school programme could possibly help to strengthen his relationship with his son, but he knew that would mean they would have to talk about his wife and that wasn't something that he was ready to do.

They had to sign in again when they arrived, then the young girl named Amy instructed them to go straight into the hall this time, instead of waiting outside. Carl entered first and immediately stopped, causing Rick to walk into him. He was about to question his son but he quickly saw why his son had frozen in place; the hall had been set up like it was the previous day, with a circle of chairs on one side of the hall and rows of tables on the other, but this time the tables were stacked with ingredients and cooking utensils.

Carl groaned, "Oh great"

"Oh, great", Rick gave him a nudge as he perked up, "Looks like you get to do some cooking today. This should be fun."

Even though Carl did help Rick when he cooked at home, his son always needed instructions to be delivered clearly and precisely because he was easily confused. He never really took that much interest in the skill and only ever helped because his father asked him to, so Rick was looking forward to seeing how he'd do on his own.

They joined the other students and their parent in the circle, where Michonne and Andre were already seated across from them. Rick gave her a friendly nod and she flashed him a small, tight smile in return. Andre was too busy inspecting everyone's shoes with his eyes to notice.

"Good afternoon, everyone!", Andre announced cheerfully as she made her way to the center of the circle, "It's great to have you all back! Yesterday went so well, and I have to let you guys know that you have been the best group that I've worked with so far because you all have such great attitudes towards this programme, and I really hope you all noticed what we have planned for you today… That's right; we are going to be cooking up a storm!"

Rick didn't know why he snuck a peek at Michonne, but he did, and he saw her neatly plucked brows form a straight line.

"Cooking and baking is something that has been known to bring people closer together for centuries, and I don't think that there is a single soul out there that doesn't enjoy getting together over a good meal, so we picked this task as a way for you all to really get acquainted with each other and to help each other produce something that you're proud of. Now, we don't expect you all to be chefs, but we do expect you to try your best, and most importantly; have fun!", Andrea clapped her hands together as she grinned at everyone with crazed eyes, "So we will have our teens pairing up again and we will also have out parents teaming up, too! The teens will be working on making some lovely, roasted vegetable and bean burritos, while the parents will have to bake a simple but delicious, double layer devil's food cake. When you're all done you will get a chance to sit down and enjoy your meals together."

Rick gave his son an encouraging look, but all Carl did was sink further into his seat. It dawned on Rick that the task might be even more difficult for two young boys like Carl and Andre.

Andrea droned on for a few more minutes before allowing everyone to leave their seats and find a station. Rick purposely chose a table in front of Carl, so he would be able to look back and see how they were doing throughout the task.

"Well, it's a good thing you like cooking because I don't cook or bake; I burn", Michonne explained dryly as she took one of the aprons from the table, "So just tell me what to do and I'll do it"

Rick wore a crooked smile as he took the other apron, "Thanks for the disclaimer"

"No problem", She peered back at the boys. Andre had already found the laminated sheet of paper with the instructions on it and started reading, while Carl appeared apprehensive as he slipped his apron on. Michonne sighed, "This will be interesting"

"We'll keep an eye on 'em", Rick assured as he began setting up the baking supplies, "They'll probably just be chopping thangs up anyway¬"

"Andre, make sure you let Carl know what you're doing, okay?", Michonne reminded quietly. Her son froze when he heard her suggestion, then handed the sheet over to Carl. She turned back to Rick to see what he was doing and crossed her arms over her chest, "...He has a tendency to forget that he's with other people…"

"...So does Carl", Rick offered lightly as he put a bowl in front of both of them, "Alright since it's a double layer cake, it would make sense to each work on a layer. Now it's a pretty straightforward recipe and we just start with the dry ingredients first; a cup and a half of flour, a cup of a sugar, half a cup of¬"

"Wait", Michonne held her hand up to stop him, "Talk while you do it and I'll follow you"

"...Alright.", Rick took his time measuring the ingredients and throwing them into the bowl, all while keeping an eye on Michonne and the boys. His earlier suspicions were correct, as Carl and Andre were quietly chopping up a bunch of vegetables behind them. Rick lowered his voice when he spoke, "...Carl isn't actually a fan of cooking…"

"Oh?", Michonne glanced behind them to see his son, "...He seems to be doing just fine"

"Yeah. Hopefully, he enjoys it."

"...I'm half expecting Andre to just walk off when he's bored of it", She quipped flatly as she mixed the dry ingredients together, "So, what next?"

"Butter.", Rick went ahead and sliced the stick of butter in half, then set one part in her bowl, then the other in his, "...So, I hope you don't mind me asking but how's it going as the new D.A?"

"Great", Her reply lacked enthusiasm, "I have about, two hundred cases to look over"

"... Might wanna' make that two hundred and _one_ …"

Her long, black dreads swung through the air as she turned her head to look at him.

"...We stumbled across a meth lab today. A man lived there with his ninety-two-year-old mother and he had it all set up in the basement", Rick explained, "So if you do end up having to deal with that then I'd just like to say that the mother tried to shoot me, and then she called me a few names that I'd rather not repeat so don't let her fool you into thinking she's a sweet old lady"

Michonne stared at him with a blank expression, but Rick caught a glimpse of a smile as she turned away, "Well, I'll remember that"

"...Uh, dad?", Carl called from behind them.

Rick turned back around and saw that Carl was at the cooking station, looking at the vacant space beside him. Andre was nowhere to be seen. Rick said to Michonne, "Uh, you might wanna'..."

Michonne caught his gaze and then turned back too. She immediately dropped her head forward when she saw that her son was gone, and muttered to herself, "I knew it."

"Go on. I'll wait.", Rick insisted coolly as he rested one of his hands on the table. He watched her hurry her way out the hall, then looked back at his son, "How's it going?"

Carl gave him that look again, "...I think I messed it up already"

Rick furrowed his brow as he looked at the vegetables on the chopping board, "You're doing fine. Just make sure you keep an eye on the skillet when you start"

Carl nodded, "Okay"

Rick moved closer to him, "...So are the two of you getting along?"

"...Kinda. We haven't really said anything…", Carl shrugged as finished cutting up a pepper, "Don't really know what to talk about…"

"Well, you both learned that you like comic books and the same movies yesterday so why don't you go off that. Maybe ask him if he'd like to come over and play video games one day…", Rick tilted his head to catch his son's gaze, "Somethan' like that?"

Carl seemed to mull over the idea, "...Okay but… I don't think he's interested? I mean… Is there, like... something going on with him?"

Rick's mouth opened and closed a few times before he replied, "...I don't know the details but I think socializing isn't one of his strong points"

Carl slowly nodded his head as he absorbed that answer, "Oh... "

"Yeah."

Carl paused for a moment, then looked up at his father, "Ethan and Randal used to call him dumb but… I never got why because he's not… he's like the smartest kid in our grade"

"Really?", Rick tilted his head at that.

"Yeah. I know everyone used to say that I was really smart but…", Carl scoffed, "He's like, really, _really_ smart"

Rick hummed in response, "Well you've both got somethan' else in common then; you're both really smart."

"I'm not _that_ smart", Carl deadpanned, causing Rick to chuckle. His son cracked a smile just as Michonne frog-marched her son back to the table.

"Sorry about that Carl", She gave her son a little pat on the back, "Please, just remember the ice-cream"

Andre made a strange sound as he reluctantly went back to chopping up peppers. Rick sent his son a reassuring look before leaving the boys to continue cooking, and when he and Michonne resumed their baking he asked her quietly, "Using ice-cream as a bribe?"

She snorted as she began mixing the ingredients again, "Kind of. I think I enjoy it more and he just humors me"

He sniggered at her joke, "You like ice-cream that much?"

"I like the Diners ice-cream that much"

"Which Diner?"

"Ann's Dinner. It's not far from the Sheriff's Department", She stopped mixing for a second and flicked a stray dread over her shoulder.

"Oh, Ann's Diner? Well, that changes everythan'. What's your favorite?", He turned his head in her direction as he peered at her.

"Double hot fudge brownie sundae. It's the best."

"That's definitely one of the best", He corrected playfully, "But have you tried the chocolate chip delight?"

"I have not."

"Well, you need to. You won't look at anythan' else once you've had that", He insisted coolly, "And if you mention my name when you order then they'll give you a few more cookies with it "

A delightful little chime filled the air as Michonne laughed, "Oh, how the other half lives"

Rick had to look away from her before she caught him leering, "I mean it. You'll be mentioning my name every time you go there after that first bite"

She bit her lip as her laughter still tickled her, "Alright, we'll see about that."

"We will", He peeked behind him at Carl and Andre again, "I think if I were to bribe Carl with anythan' then it would be that. To be honest you could probably bribe me with that"

"I'm surprised that you haven't come up with your own concoction already since you seem to love cooking and baking so much"

"And why don't you? If you don't mind me asking?"

She huffed as she took a little break from mixing, "I've just never been good at it. Simple things with not to much prep, I can do. Anything more than that… and it gets complicated"

"You just need to take your time with it", Rick advised, "Master the basics first, then you can start to experiment here and there"

"Is that how you learned?", She crossed her lean arms over her chest as she watched him.

"You could say that. I was a mama's boy so I used to be stuck to her hip most of the time, even when she was in the kitchen…So she'd let me help her until I was old enough to work on one thang while she did the other", Rick began to smile as he recalled those moments in his mind, "I was terrible to start off with but I kept going and eventually I got the hang of it. You probably could too, if you keep trying"

"Maybe…", She lowered her eyes, showcasing her thick, dark lashes, "I have to make sure my home insurance is up to date before I give it shot"

Rick stopped what he was doing as he chortled, "I guess you can never be too careful, huh?"

"Not at all", She smirked as she started mixing again, "So if you ever get a call about a fire..."

"Don't worry", He concurred in his husky southern tone, "As soon as I know it's you then I'm dropping everythan' and I'm coming right over"

There was a little delay in her response, "...Well, thanks..."

Talking to Michonne was an experience for Rick. She was much more reserved the previous day and it did take a moment for her to warm up at the beginning of their baking session but as soon as she relaxed their conversation exploded into something playful and exciting. She was incredibly sarcastic and had quite a dry sense of humor but he found it endearing all the same, and when she smiled she captured his full attention. If he had to think of a way to describe her then he'd have to refer to a memory of Lori's very spiritual grandmother and the way she spoke of auras; she always told him that she could see certain colours emulating from people around her, and Rick wasn't sure if he had understood the philosophy correctly but he could easily imagine fireworks twirling around Michonne. She was striking in every sense of the word.

He enjoyed talking to her so much that before he knew it they were done baking and cleaning up the mess they had made in preparation for their dinner. Carl and Andre had started talking again at some point, and Rick wasn't sure if they were too indulged in their own conversation to remember the task or they simply didn't care anymore, either way, their burritos suffered for their negligence.

"...Well, this looks… great", Michonne lied. She kept looking down at the burrito in front of her like she was hoping it would morph into something else.

"Yeah… uh, you boys did.. _Somethan_ '...", Rick agreed, even though he was afraid to take a bite. Even though the tortilla looked fine, he knew the beans and vegetables inside were burnt black.

"Should we give them a taste?", Michonne suggested. Carl looked at her like she was crazy while Andre simply didn't look at the plate in front of him at all. She tapped her son's hand, "Andre? Come on, let's try it"

Andre looked in his mother's direction, then down at his plate as he replied flatly, "I'm not eating that, mom"

Michonne's mouth fell agape, and Rick tried to keep it together but laughter burst from his lips. His son soon followed, "I don't think I want to either"

Rick tried to straighten up, "I'm sorry boys, you did your best but… It smells like ashes"

Michonne pressed her lips firmly together in a bid to hide her amusement but she failed and a wide smile spread across her face as she giggled. Andre looked up at his mother and to Rick's amazement, mimicked her. He hadn't seen the teen look above anyone's shoulders before and he had only ever seen him express displeasure or uninterest, yet he was absolutely beaming at his mother. His honey brown eyes lit up as if he were looking the fascinating thing in the world and for a brief moment Rick was given a little glimpse into their very special bond.

"So we're not eating this, right?", Carl pushed his plate away from him, "I don't want to throw-up or anything"

"Neither do I, son", Rick gave the teen a pat on the back, "It was a good attempt though. Maybe next time thangs will go differently but I'm proud of you for giving it a shot when I know you didn't want to"

Carl looked genuinely pleased to hear the praise, "Thanks…"

"And how are we getting along here?", Andrea slid up to their table with her clipboard in hand, "Why haven't we tucked into our burritos yet?"

"Uh, I'm afraid we won't be doing that", Rick tried to gather his wits, "We agreed to give it a miss. The boys did their best but they had a little trouble with the actual cooking part..."

"What? It doesn't look that bad?", Andrea eyed the food on all the plates, "May I?"

"...Sure", Rick lifted his own plate for her to try, but muttered under his breath, "At your own peril"

Andrea tucked the clipboard under her arm and took the plate from him. Everyone watched in silence as she took a little bite from a corner, and she almost managed to chew but ended up spitting it out, "Oh dear. Okay, that's not _completely_ inedible, it's just- It's…"

" _Somethan_ '...", Rick gave his son an apologetic look, "I think we deserve some cake now"

Carl happily agreed, "I think we do too."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

"I gave Graham a call and he said he's more than willing to help, so you should get an email from him sometime this week. I've got Bill and Joseph on the back burner as well so if you need any more help then just give me a call¬"

"Thank you, Mike, but I don't need your entire legal team to help me with this", Michonne strolled around in circles as she held her cell phone to her ear, "The school will probably want to settle out of court anyway"

"Maybe so, but if they don't want to settle then at least your prepared", Mike tried to reason, "They'll probably back down when they see just what they're up against"

"Maybe…", Michonne sighed as she came to a halt beside her son and noticed he'd already begun reading his comic book, "So, how's Miranda doing?"

"She's doing great, just fine, actually… I'm actually glad you asked because uh, I was meant to give you a call…", Mike's tone picked up, "We're having a baby."

Michonne's eyebrows sprung up into her forehead, "Oh really? That's great. I'm happy for you."

"Really? Because you sounded like Andre just then"

She reluctantly sniggered at his joke. She genuinely was happy for her son's father and his wife, but her monotone may have made it sound like she felt otherwise, "I mean it; that's _great_ news. How far along is she?"

"It's early… She thinks she's somewhere three months"

"Really early. Well, congratulations. I hope you can tell Andre to his face", She made it sound like a suggestion but it was more of a demand.

"I will, I can actually make it down next weekend if you'll be around?", Mike sounded hopeful, "I know it's last minute but I'm sure I can get a hotel"

Michonne wanted to groan out of frustration but didn't. Over a month had passed since Andre last saw his father, so it was crucial that he saw him sooner rather than later, "We'll be around. He'd enjoy seeing you."

"I can't wait to see him too. Is he still with you? I'll let him know"

"Yeah, hold on", Michonne removed the device from her ear and held it out to her son, "Andre, you're dad wants to speak to you"

Andre glanced at the phone, then quickly took it in his hand and stuck it between his head and shoulder, so he wouldn't lose his page, "I'm reading, dad"

Michonne sniggered at him as she looked around the parking lot. It was late in the afternoon and they were all done with the second week of the Just Partners program, so students and their parents were leaving the Lenux center in dredges when Michonne stopped to answer a call with her ex. Andre had fished his comic book out of her purse while she spoke to his father, then plopped himself down on the low brick wall by the entrance. He didn't mind speaking to Mike, but not when he was reading. Never when he was reading.

She was standing by the teen and listening to the very limited conversation when the Sergeant and his son exited the building. They appeared in good spirits, and Michonne put that down to the fact that their session that afternoon consisted of playing games against each other, and the father and son seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves.

"You're still here?", Rick gazed fell all the way down to her shoes, then crawled back up to her eyes again, "...Are you hoping to catch one of the other parents out here?"

Michonne crossed her arms over her chest as she hid her smirk from him, "I'm not that competitive"

Rick grinned, "Didn't seem that way in there"

She took the focus off herself, "So, heading home?"

"Yeah, right after we stop by the store and pick up a few thangs…"

"I see", Michonne began to slowly nod her head but paused when she felt something poke her on her hip. She looked down and saw it was her phone, being held out by Andre as he continued to read his book. She took the device from him and dunked it in her purse, "Well, we were going to get some ice-cream but somebody said that they were sick of it…"

Rick appeared amused, "Sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. All things must come to an end"

"You never did tell me if you tried the chocolate chip delight?"

"I did. It was okay.", She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant about his recommendation even though it was easily the best dessert she'd ever had, "I enjoyed it"

He held her gaze with a knowing expression on his face, "I'm pleased to hear that"

She flicked her dreads over her shoulder, "...I think it's time that we get going¬"

"You might wanna' wait a minute…"

She followed his line of sight and saw the reason for his suggestion; Carl was taking a look at Andre's comic book while her son told him about the issue, so she turned back around, "Oh… Well it's nice to see that they're talking... by choice"

"Yeah", Rick still kept his eyes on them, "How's everything going with the school?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Good. He seems to be going back to normal and I'm getting a case against the school together"

Rick's eyes shot over to her, "Oh?"

"Yes."

He slowly nodded his head as he cast his gaze away from her for a moment, "Have you gotten a copy of the police report yet?"

"...It's on my 'to-do' list."

"Alright", He set his hands at his sides, "I'll have someone fax it over on Monday."

Michonne paused, "...Thank you."

"No problem.", He glanced over at the boys again.

Both parents remained quiet enough to hear the tail end of Carl's question to Andre, "You can come to my house and see them? I have a lot the old stuff."

Michonne's mouth fell agape out of genuine shock. Somebody could have knocked her over with a feather. Her son had never been invited anywhere by anyone. No birthday parties or sleepovers. Not even just for an afternoon. While Andre had never seemed bothered at missing social events, It used to tear her apart.

She turned ever so slightly to see her son's reaction. Andre pursed his lips together and Michonne held her breath. She could see that he was mulling over the idea, and she was actually worried that Carl hadn't sold himself enough but her son surprised her by simply replying, "Okay."

Michonne faced Rick again, to act as though they hadn't been listening to their conversation, but she was so choked up that she couldn't even form a coherent sentence, "Uh, so...the port. The _re_ port. The _police_ report."

Rick looked away from her for a moment as he started to chuckled quietly, "Yeah, that. Like I said, I'll make sure that's faxed over to you."

"Thanks…Again", She tucked one of her locks behind her ear. Any hope of composing herself had gone out of the window.

Andre soon appeared at her side, "Can I go to Carl's house tomorrow? He said I can see his comics. I want to see his comics."

She nodded a little too enthusiastically, "Of course you can! That sounds great¬ I mean if it's okay with¬"

"That's fine", Rick said cooly, "I've got some work to do around the house so we'll be home"

"Okay, so we'll¬", Michonne noticed that her son simply turned away from them both and went back to Carl, "I can drop him off around two or three?"

"Two or three is fine by me",

Michonne pulled her purse from her shoulder and began looking for her cellphone, "Let me get your address¬"

"Uh, we're actually neighbors", She stilled when he made the announcement. He went on to explain, "We live around the corner from you. Cherokee Avenue¬ Right across the street from the park"

"Oh?", Michonne held her purse in her hand.

"Yeah. Number eight-one-seven"

"Oh… We really are neighbors…", She quickly tried to remember if she had ever seen Rick or his son in the neighborhood, but nothing came to mind.

"Yeah. It shouldn't be a problem for you to find", Rick snuck a glance at her son as he lowered his voice, "...Is there anythan' I should be aware of?"

Michonne looked away from the Sergeant as she inhaled deeply, then made eye contact with him again, "Yes."

Rick shifted his stance, "Go on?"

She didn't want to bombard him with information so she focused on the most important points, "...I'm sure that you already know, or have noticed that he has a hard time socializing and adjusting to change. He needs a minute to get used to new environments, so sometimes he'll take a look around and sometimes he won't move at all¬ That really depends on where he is. He's usually fine with homes…"

Rick slowly nodded his head, "Oka¬"

"He has no problem following clear directions and instructions, but he has a tendency to 'tune out' so you might have to repeat yourself a few times to get his attention", Michonne took a breath, "You've seen for yourself that he will simply just abandon things when he's lost all interest... and there are those rare occasions where he has to block everything out¬ And that shouldn't be a problem...But if that does happen then he just needs a few minutes to himself. Sometimes an hour¬ It depends..."

He parted his lips, "So¬"

"He's very fussy with food. He only likes certain things prepared in a certain way and sometimes weird combinations¬ In fact, I'll make him a lunch or something so you won't even have to worry about that", Michonne tapped fingers on her thigh as she spoke, "And he also has a tendency to only talk about things that he likes, so he might repeat something or make a reference to the same thing over and over, but that's an indication that he's interested in you because he wants to say something to you…So, yeah. Those are the basics."

Rick stared at her in silence for a few moments, then shifted his stance again, "Alright. Got it."

Michonne's eyes scanned all over his face, "Really?"

"Yeah. I'll have to run all of that by Carl but, it's fine. We understand"

She blew out a breath of relief, "Okay. Great."

It may not have been anything out of the usual for the Sergeant or his son, but it would be a monumental moment for Michonne and for Andre. It was hard to believe that the invitation had come from the boy that Andre had fought weeks before, but Carl had proved to be just as awkward and withdrawn as her son so she was beginning to think that he had fallen in with a bad crowd because of circumstance, not nurture. She could remember that Carol told her that the boy's mother passed but she didn't know when or how, or if that had anything to do with his recent choices.

Still, she was excited enough for the both of them and couldn't wait to share the news with Oscar when they arrived home, but it seemed that her husband hadn't had as good of a day as they did.

"What else do they want me to do?! I sent them the designs and gave them exactly what they asked for!", Oscar roared from his studio, "If they want me to change anything as substantial as the layout then it's gonna' cost them because I've spent weeks on this!"

Michonne was tempted to venture into his room at the end of the hall but decided against it. She looked at Andre, who was on his knees and greeting an over-excited Max, "Why don't I make some popcorn and you can pick a movie?"

Andre continued to gaze at the dog as he rubbed her back, "...I don't like burnt popcorn"

Michonne's groaned as she kicked off her heels, "Very funny. Just for that, I'm definitely making the popcorn. And I hate to break it to you but I think you inherited my inability to cook, too"

Andre groaned back at her as he pursed his lips.

She smirked in return, "Go change your clothes, and then you can help make sure that I don't burn it, okay?"

Andre hopped up on his feet, "Come on, Max"

"These people get on my Goddamn nerves", Oscar spat angrily as he marched out his studio, but stopped when he saw Michonne by the staircase and Andre disappearing with Max in tow. He carried on walking towards the kitchen but at a more controlled pace, "...I didn't hear you get in"

Michonne watched him closely, "We just got here... Bad day?"

Oscar growled, "I don't wanna' talk about it."

She followed behind him and stopped at the door frame, "...Andre was invited to another students house tomorrow"

He glanced back at her as he opened the fridge, "Yeah? Who?"

"...Carl. The boy he's doing this programme with"

He frowned as he turned around and looked at her properly, "One of the racists? The same one he got into a fight with?"

"The one he got into a fight with, yes", Michonne explained, "I actually believe that he did just fall in with a bad crowd. So far they've been getting along¬"

"Yeah, right. He probably doesn't wanna' get excluded like the others", Oscar scoffed as he started looking in the fridge again, "Don't fall for it."

"I'm not falling for anything. I've been around them and he seems like a nice boy, just a little lost¬"

"What about his parents, huh? Kids aren't born hating us. They learn that from someone, and you and I both know that there's plenty of people in this town that are all smiles in your face but behind closed doors, it's ' _coon_ ' this and ' _nigger_ ' that¬"

"His father was the one that brought Andre back here", Michonne stated firmly, "His father also offered to send the police report over from the department"

Oscar started setting ingredients down on the counter, "The cop?"

"The Sergeant."

Oscar smirked, "I guess that makes it all right, huh?"

"If I really believed for even one second that they weren't genuine then I wouldn't let Andre anywhere near either of them, and you should know that", Michonne stood up straight, "They seem to get along, they have similar interests, Andre asked if he could go over there so I agreed. This may have started off bad but things are heading on the right track. Unless I'm given a reason to think otherwise, I'm going to encourage that friendship and I'd hope that you would too."

Oscar retrieved a sharp knife a chopping board as he replied sourly, "Sure. Whatever."

"No, not ' _whatever_ ', Oscar."

He stopped what he was doing and held his hands up, "Fine. Alright. We'll see."

She preferred that response to the previous one he gave her, "Thank you…"

Oscar continued to prepare dinner without another word. She tried to ignore that disagreement because it was too soon after their agreement for things to fall apart again. His attitude stemmed from his disagreement over his projects and had nothing to do with anyone else.

It still left a bad taste in her mouth though. He stayed away while she and Andre had their popcorn and watched a movie. She didn't know why she let it bug her so much but she did.

At dinner, he remained silent while Michonne tried to instigate some kind of conversation between them all, "...You remember Sophia, right Andre?"

Her son didn't look up as he shoveled spaghetti on his fork, "No."

"Carol's daughter? We've seen them in town a few times?"

Andre continued to eat.

"Well, her mother suggested that the two of you could hang out here when we have to go out for the night. How does that sound?", She waited until he finished chewing to repeat her question, "Well? Sophia's a nice girl and you can hang out and watch a movie?"

Andre didn't look that impressed with her idea, "...Where are you going to be?"

"At a ceremony for work. I'd love for you to come but I don't think you'll like it very much", Michonne peaked in Oscar's direction, "Have you got your tux for that yet?"

Her husband only looked away from his phone screen for a second, "For what?"

"The Policeman's ball. It's in two weeks."

Oscar went back to his meal, "...No, not yet."

Michonne tried not to sigh as she did the same, "Right. Well if you need me to pick something out for you then¬"

"I'll do it. I just haven't had the time."

She refused to look in his direction again, "Alright."

"Get away from here, Max", Oscar instructed firmly as he looked down at the dog, "Don't drop anything on the floor Andre or she won't leave. She thinks you're feeding her or something"

Michonne noticed her son pause. He was as protective of the canine as she was of him. She spoke up, "He's almost done. She'll go upstairs with him in a minute"

Andre stood up from his seat, picked up his plate and took it over to the kitchen counter. Michonne exhaled quietly as she watched him leave the room with Max in tow. Oscar dropped his fork on his plate as he sat back in his seat, "I wasn't snapping at him. I just wanted Max to stop hovering over here"

"She's his dog. She's going to hover around him", Her son and her husband weren't the only ones who lost their appetite.

"So I can't say anything now? I just have to shut up and keep my thoughts to myself?"

"I didn't say that", She frowned at him, "But I will say that you could work on your delivery. I understand that you're stressed out right now and you have every right to be but I just wish you'd try not to let that filter through to everything else"

"Maybe that's true", Oscar frowned right back at her, "But if you know it's nothing personal then why is it a problem?"

"I can figure out when it's personal or not but he can't", Michonne tried to adjust her tone, "You've hardly said anything to him since he got home but when you finally do, it's a comes off as a complaint. Our relationship isn't the only one that needs work around here"

Her husband averted his gaze elsewhere as sighed, "Right."

The only thing that Michonne could take away from their discussion was that he did seem more receptive to what she had to say, but she was beginning to feel like a shrew. Their relationship may have been at a weak point before but she couldn't think of anything worse than becoming a nag and scolding him like a child when he did anything she didn't like. She needed to reassess her approach, for the sake of her own sanity as well as his.

The next day was undoubtedly a big one for her son. She purposely left him at home while she ran errands because she wanted him to feel relaxed before his commitment to Carl. She was embarrassingly excited for him and at risk of overthinking small details but she couldn't help herself. It was one of the many milestones that she didn't think he'd reach, especially after being tormented by those other students, but it seemed as though her son might have finally found a friend after all.

"Do you want anything else besides spaghetti and strawberries?", Michonne asked her son as she closed the container that held his lunch, "I can make you a sandwich, too?"

Andre was on one knee and tying his shoelace, "...A banana"

"Just a banana?"

"He's not going on an _expedition_ ", Oscar piped up as cleaned the opposite counters, "It sounds like he's got enough"

Michonne shot the back of her husband's head a mean look, "I just want to make sure he has enough"

Oscar huffed as he looked at his step-son, "So you excited about this Andre? Do you actually like this kid?"

Andre stood up, but kept his gaze on his shoes, "...He's okay"

"And you actually wanna' go over there? He's not forcing you to, right?", Oscar probed, causing Michonne to send him an annoyed look.

"...I want to see his books", Andre's lip twitched as he started to lift his gaze just a little, "He said he has a lot"

Oscar slowly nodded as he glanced in Michonne's direction, "Alright. Well, I hope you enjoy yourself."

Michonne wished her husband had shown the same amount of concern when her son was actually being bullied. It still annoyed her that he hadn't, but his questions did spark some doubts in her mind. Was she so desperate for her son to have a friend that she was overlooking something threatening on the horizon? She honestly didn't believe so, but that didn't stop her from double-checking with her son when they left their home, "Are you looking forward to this?"

Andre almost smiled, but not because of her question. He had Max on her leash and he loved walking his dog, "...Yeah. Carl said he's seen the Lich before when I showed it to him in my book"

Michonne struggled to keep up with her son's favorite characters but still nodded, "Oh? That's great. You can talk about it to your heart's content… And when you're ready to go home then you can tell Rick, his dad… But don't feel like you have to rush or anything… Just have fun. And when you're tired or ready to leave then I'll come get you, okay?"

"Okay.", Andre seemed to take it all in his stride, while his mother was turning into a nervous wreck.

They turned onto the street at the end of theirs and only had to pass a few houses before she spotted a familiar figure at the front of a very nice home. The exterior was a pale yellow with white piping and had a front porch that wrapped around the property. Michonne was sure that it would impress Oscar.

"Michonne, Andre", Rick greeted them with a smile as he stood up straight when he saw them and wiped his brow with his arm. It was clear that he was doing some kind of work in the yard since he had on a thick pair of gardening gloves, but it was the way his thin white t-shirt clung to his taut sweaty torso that caught Michonnes attention. His bright blue eyes landed on the canine, "And Max, right?"

"Good afternoon", Michonne felt embarrassed for noticing the mans form, so she looked away, "Yeah. This is Max."

"Well I'm glad you made it", Rick looked back towards his house, specifically the top floor, and yelled, "Carl?!"

A few moment's passed before his son appeared at one of the windows, then disappeared when he saw them. Michonne looked at her own son, "...Andre's been looking forward to this, haven't you?"

"...Yeah", Andre offered back as he surveyed the home with narrowed eyes, "So have you..."

Michonne eyed the side of her sons face while Rick snickered, "Well, the feelings mutual. Carl was actually just trying to make his room a little more presentable so I hope that he's succeeded in that"

She forced a friendly smile on her face as she looked at the father, feeling nervous for a completely different reason than she thought she would, "I'm sure it's fine."

"You're more than welcome to go inside, Andre", Rick offered, "Take a look around? Carl will probably find you"

"Okay.", Andre gathered more Max's leash in his hand as he prepared to go inside the home but Michonne stopped him.

"Um, hold on honey, I'll take Max¬"

"It's fine, he can take her in with him", Rick insisted, "In fact, Carl loves dogs. He'd be happy to see her."

"Oh, okay", Michonne let go of Andre and watched him walk towards the home and up the steps. Having Max at his side helped a lot, and he didn't look as hesitant as he would do on his own.

"I let Carl know what to expect", Rick explained as he took off his gloves, "They'll probably just hang out in his room for the rest of the day"

"Okay, sure", Michonne tore her gaze away from the front door when she saw her son go inside, "Thanks for this, by the way"

"It's no problem at all. Andre's actually the first friend from school that Carl's invited over", He confessed, "Anyone else we've had was a friend of the family or somethan' so… this is new to him, too"

Oddly enough, Michonne was pleased to hear that, "Really?"

"Yeah", Rick looked as though he had thunder in his eyes again, "We used to get together with a few friends of mine and they had kids that Carl was pretty close with… But we haven't done that for a while, so he hasn't done anythan' like this for awhile either"

The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fall into place. She remembered everything Carol had said to her. His wife's passing obviously had a very profound effect on them both, but it seemed as though Carl took it especially hard. Michonne nodded her head, "I understand… I'm sure they'll enjoy themselves"

"Yeah. They probably will…"

She looked towards his home again, "Well, I guess I should be going… I don't think I'm meant to hang around for too long"

"You're more than welcome to", He raked his damp hair away from his face and his flimsy shirt revealed some muscles here and there, "These aren't exactly the typical circumstances"

Michonne felt like her son as she tried to avoid looking at him directly, "That's true"

"You can come and sit in the house", He motioned towards his home with his hand, "If he needs you then he won't have to go far to find you."

She honestly did prefer to hang around for just a short while so that Andre didn't think she'd just abandoned him there, "...If you don't mind?"

"Like I said, you're more than welcome", He shoved the gloves in the back of his worn out jeans, "I'll make you somethan' to drink and you can tell me just how you managed to win almost every game that we played yesterday"

A large smile almost spread across her face but she cut it down to size, "I have my strategies and I expect you, as the sergeant, to have your own"

"I do, but I liked yours better", He admitted coolly, then tilted his head to one side and a few strands of hair fell forward, "After you"

Michonne dithered on the spot for only a few seconds but ultimately made the choice to make the steps towards his home, "Thank you…".


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N** : Hey guys! It's been a little while since I updated - I've been so busy with my job and tried so hard to work on chapters as soon as I got the chance but I've only been able to do a few paragraphs done here and there. I am still writing though and I really hope you angels enjoy this!

-Bae

Chapter Seven:

"...You have a really nice home."

Rick poured the freshly made lemonade in the glass as he replied, "Thank you. I try to keep it in good shape as best I can"

"It shows", Her heels clicked on the floor as she took small steps from the living area to the dining area.

Rick picked up her glass and looked at her properly as he made his way towards her; she had on a black blouse that revealed her lean shoulders, and a tight pair of jeans. It was a Saturday, and she'd only came from around the corner so he wasn't sure why she was so dressed up, but it was consistent with what she wore in the week so he figured that dressing up was standard procedure. He held out the glass when he was close enough, "Here you go"

She took the beverage in her slender hand, "Thanks"

"Would you like to take a seat on the porch?, He offered politely, "It's beautiful outside"

She nodded her head as she finished taking a sip, "Sure."

Rick actually found it quite sweet to see Michonne so reluctant to leave her son. It was clear that Andre had never been invited to a friends home before when she struggled to contain her excitement the previous afternoon. He was also proud of Carl for taking the plunge since Rick didn't think he'd do it.

He led her back outside and watched as she sat on the porch swing while he leaned against the wooden rail, "It's great to hear that Andre was looking forward to this"

"He said he was", She crossed her legs as she answered the question, "What about Carl?"

He nodded his head in agreement, "I'm sure that he was. He willingly cleaned his room so that's always a good sign"

She seemed amused, "Cute."

"So I hope you don't mind me asking, but how's his father feeling about all this?", He asked the question carefully, but the smile on her face still vanished.

"...His stepfather is supportive, and his father thought it was a good idea when I told him."

The penny finally dropped. Rick didn't want to make it obvious that he was surprised to learn her husband wasn't Andre's father, and in all honesty, he should have known when Andre referred to him as 'Oscar', and not dad. He slowly nodded his head, "I see"

She let her stoic gaze sail across his lawn and answered his next question before he had a chance to ask, "His father lives in New York."

"...Alright", He tried to keep any judgment out of his tone.

"So what exactly were you doing out here?"

He glanced behind him, "Just a little landscaping. Trying to neaten it up a little"

She raised a neatly plucked eyebrow at him, "So you're a landscaper, too?"

"I wouldn't call myself that but I do know a few thangs about it", He noticed that she wouldn't hold his gaze for longer than a few seconds, "To be honest with you, this is somethan' that I only started doing a while ago. Now I almost enjoy it."

She brought the glass to her lips, "What made you start?"

He hesitated, "It was just somethan' that needed doing…"

There was a chance that Michonne knew about his wife or at least suspected that she wasn't in the picture. She slowly nodded her head, "… Well, it certainly looks nice"

"Thank you...", Rick wanted to steer the conversation in a different direction, "So what made you want to get into law?"

"...I like justice", She said simply.

He watched her with curious eyes, "Well it seems like you've got a pretty impressive career behind you for someone so young"

"So young?", She repeated dryly.

"D.A's are usually a lot older. In their late forties and fifties¬"

"And what makes you think that I'm not?", Something about the way her eyebrows sprang up let him know that she was toying with him.

He gave her an innocent shrug, "I don't think you're a day over thirty-five"

"Well then, let's keep it that way", She tittered, "So what about you?"

It was his turn to sell himself, "I guess my reason isn't that much different to yours; I like justice too, and I like helping people."

Michonne eyed him, "And how long have you been doing that for?"

"Almost fifteen years"

"Impressive."

Rick's gaze fell on her exposed shoulder, "So I remember you saying that you liked to dance?"

She looked away bashfully, "I do. In my home. _Alone_."

He began to smile again, "I would have thought that you went out dancing at least?"

She flicked her dreads over her shoulder as she shook her head, "No. Not anymore. I hung up my dancing shoes a long time ago"

"Well maybe it's time you take them down", He began to grin, "The policeman's balls coming up and a lot of the guys down at the department can't wait to let their last remaining strands of hair down"

She snickered at his joke, "Yourself included?"

He feigned confidence, "Well, I'm not one to brag but… you won't find anyone around here that can do the 'electric slide' better than me"

Michonne looked as though she wanted to burst out laughing, "Is that so?"

"It's a skill", He insisted, leading her to giggle at him. He gave her a shocked look, "You have a problem believing that?"

"Yes", She answered easily, "I really do"

"Well I'm gonna' have to show you then"

"You might just have to", Her gaze fell away from his, and she quietly cleared her throat, "Um, maybe we should check on them?"

"Yeah", Rick pushed off of the railing, "I'll do it.

As soon as he was out of Michonne's sight, Rick ran a hand over his face and sighed. He initially thought that having some time alone with Michonne would give him the opportunity to get to know her better and have a proper discussion about their sons, but with nothing around to occupy them, it was tough. All he had done so far was drool over her and hang on her every word she said.

Checking on the boys was a good way for him to distract himself for a short while. He went up to the second floor of his home and strolled up to his sons' room. He was able to see them through the open door; both boys were sitting on his bed, backs against the wall with their heads in a comic book. Neither looked up at him, even though they must have sensed his presence. Max was stretched across the floor, laying on her side with her tongue hanging out her mouth. Rick frowned at her, "...Uh, Andre?

Andre didn't move.

"Andre?", Rick repeated his name, and he started to look in Rick's direction but stopped, so he took that as a sign that he had his attention, "Is Max alright?"

The teen lowered his book by a small fraction to see his German shepherd, "Yes."

Rick slowly nodded his head, "Alright… Well are you two alright up here?"

"Yeah", Carl answered from behind his book, "Fine, dad"

"Alright, that's good. Well, we're downstairs if you need anythan'¬ Your mom's still here Andre", He looked at the other teen again, "So if you need her then we'll be out front"

Andre completely ignored what Rick said and slightly turned his head toward Carl, then asked, "Do girls like you?"

Rick's eyebrows sprung to life. He watched his son closely and saw that was Carl was confused by both the question and his answer, "Uh...I don't...I don't _know_?"

And that was it; Andre went back to his book, leaving Carl to look away awkwardly as he mulled over the question. Rick snuck out the room with a large grin on his face. Even though they''re friendship was still budding, Rick had a feeling that he was just given a glimpse into the kind of friendship they would share if all the parents continued to encourage it.

"Everything alright?", Michonne barely let him step out of his home before she asked him for information.

"Yeah, fine", Rick assured as he made his way back to his previous spot, "They're just sat up there; reading."

She sat back in her seat, "Oh. Okay"

Rick began to grin again, "Yeah, uh… I heard Andre ask Carl if any girls liked him"

Michonne's eyebrows popped up like Ricks had done, "Really?"

"Yeah. Its funny because Carl looked as though he'd just been asked the meaning of life"

"Oh God", She signed out of despair, "I think he's starting to realize that girls exist"

"He's caught on a lot sooner than Carl. I used to worry about that stuff… You know, _girls_ and relationships¬ but I think he's gonna' be a late bloomer", Rick scratched the back of his head as he thought about it, "And he can be pretty withdrawn and shy with people"

Michonne pursed her full lips together for a brief moment, "To be honest with you, I probably wouldn't have believed that a few weeks ago"

Rick straightened up defensively, but he kept his tone the same when he said, "...Well, I guess that I don't blame you. I know I said this before and I'm not trying to make excuses for him but Carl really did fall in with the wrong crowd¬ he was having a tough time at school, and he didn't want to go in most of the time… But there's been a little change since the program started. It's not a dramatic change but it's like he's slowly starting to come out of his shell and I'd like to think that Andre's had somethan' to do with that."

She let her gaze dance around his face, "...I guess I could say the same about Andre"

"Really?"

"Well, he went inside your home without a problem", She tilted her head a little as she made her point, "And he hasn't come down here and told me that he wants to leave, so that's a great sign"

Rick began to nod his head, "...And how does he do at school? Carl told me that he's incredibly smart"

"He's doing great academically. He just sails through the work… but socially, It's not anywhere near as easy for him", Rick noticed that Michonne shifted ever so slightly in her seat, "Kids don't understand how he works or why he's a little different"

Rick crossed his arms over his chest, "...So I guess I was right when I said that we should take that incident as an opportunity to turn everythan' around for both of them?"

Michonne's face stiffened so much that Rick almost burst out laughing. She saw him struggling to contain his amusement and rolled her eyes playfully, "How subtle of you"

"I saw an opportunity and¬"

"And you _pounced_ on it", She had a little smile on her face as she retrieved her cell phone from her purse, and Rick only assumed it was her husband calling her because he saw an annoyed expression that he'd seen before. She dropped her phone back in her purse and continued speaking as if she wasn't interrupted, "So, they were just sitting up there reading?"

"Yep. They both seemed fine", Rick remembered something, "Uh, his dog?… does she¬"

"She looked like she was playing dead, right?", Michonne assumed dryly, "Tongue hanging out her mouth?"

"That's exactly what I saw"

"Yeah, she does that sometimes. She's a strange dog."

"A little protective too? When me and my partner dropped him home that day after school…", Rick started to laugh when he remembered the way Theodore reacted to Max, "She started barking and he took off running"

"He's not the first person to run from her", Michonne chuckled, "And he won't be the last. She's a great dog though"

"She seems to like it", Maybe it was because of what just happened, Rick found himself glancing down at her left hand resting on her knee; she didn't wear a wedding ring. He wasn't surprised. He uncrossed his arms and placed both hands on the porch railing as he made a friendly suggestion, "Maybe if all goes well today then we can try to set somethan' else for them to do? Somethan' that they can both enjoy"

Her eyes flickered away from him as she mulled over the idea, "...That sounds good"

"We can probably let them figure out what to do", Rick peaked over his shoulder when he heard a car slip into his driveway, and immediately straightened up when he recognized the vehicle. His mood took a dive, but not enough for him to forget his manners. He apologized to Michonne as he started making his way off the porch, "Sorry about this, can you give me a minute?"

"Sure.", Michonne crossed one leg over the other as if she were getting comfortable.

If there were two people that Rick didn't want to see anytime soon, it would be his former parents in law. He dreaded their visits, mostly because they had a tendency to just turn up whenever they pleased but also because there was too much tension between them all.

On the surface, Lori's parents appeared to be just like any other middle-aged, southern married couple; her mother was a slender, petite woman who wore her thick, auburn hair short and feathered and dressed in pastel-colored shirts and dated jeans. The same could be said for her father. However, if someone were to look close enough they would see that her mother looked years older than she actually was due to an own going drinking problem, and her father's 'hear no evil, speak no evil' attitude only enabled her to drink from sunrise to sunset.

Rick didn't think they were awful people, but since his wife's passing, they had developed awful attitudes. Especially her mother.

"Afternoon", Lori's mother sighed as she closed her the passenger side door. She was wearing jean cut-offs that stopped at the knee and revealed a painful looking bruise on her calf. Rick assumed it was an alcohol-fueled injury.

"Sylvia", He stopped on the edge of his lawn and he greeted them, "Leonard"

Leonard came around her car at a snail's pace as he asked, "How's it going over here?"

"Just fine", Rick sat his hands on his sides, "How's it going?"

"We were in the area and thought we'd stop by and see if you were in", Sylvia looked towards his home as she spoke, "I see you have company?"

"Yeah. Carl has a friend from school over", Rick wanted her attention back on him, "So I'm afraid that this really isn't a¬"

"We haven't seen him for a few weeks now…", Sylvia's gaze was firm but her balance was a little unsteady, "It would be nice to at least see him for a few minutes"

"How about tomorrow?", He offered, "We'll come by the farm and you can spend more than a few minutes with him"

Sylvia pursed her wrinkled lips together as she turned back to her husband's car and reached into the open window, "...You know he's the only thang we have left in this world from our daughter"

Rick watched her pull out a pack of cigarettes, while Leonard stood by his wife protectively, "Just let him come down for a few minutes to say hello to us. He can go right back up to his friend when he's done"

"You entertaining someone up there?", A cigarette dangled out of Sylvia's mouth as she found a lighter in her back pocket, "Well ain't that nice of you¬"

"Like I said, I'm offering to bring Carl by tomorrow afternoon", Rick could see the argument coming his way, "If you're available then we'll make it happen"

Leonard huffed as he glanced in his wife's direction. He looked as though he wanted to encourage her to take his offer but the older man wasn't known for having a backbone when it came to his wife. And besides, Sylvia was on a roll, "My daughter would be turning in her grave if she knew that we weren't seeing our grandson¬"

"You've always been free to see him", Rick insisted firmly, "But you don't call, you just turn up here and I don't think that's fair. If you call then we can put somethan' in place¬"

"I should be able to see my grandson whenever the hell I want", Sylvia pointed her cigarette at him, "I helped my daughter raise that boy when you were out working¬"

"I've always appreciated everythan' you did, everythan' you both did, but there have been times that Carl and I have both wanted to be alone and I would have expected you to understand and respect that. You're not the only one that's had a tough time with this"

"What would you know about having a tough time? You got over this pretty quickly", Sylvia had a horse, southern tone and it wasn't unusual for her to draw out her words but she was putting too much emphasis on certain words. Whatever she had drunk earlier was starting to take effect. She tilted her head towards his home as she said, "So who's that? Does she know about you? Does she know about my daughter?"

Rick shifted his stance as he tried to wrap up the conversation, "If you'd like me to bring him by tomorrow then I'll let him know and we'll stop by, but right now is not a good time"

Sylvia took a long drag on her cigarette. Her hand trembled when she removed it from her lips, "Do you even let him see her? Have you taken her pictures down yet?"

"You don't know what you are talking about, Sylvia", Rick shook his head dismissively as he looked away from the woman.

"She loved you. She loved you more than anythan' and you didn't do a damn thang to held her!", Sylvia's voice cracked when her husband grabbed hold of her arms, "You're a Goddamn _dog_ , Grimes!"

"Come on, let's go", Leonard pushed her back towards his car, "Go on, get in there"

"He's a dog!", Sylvia protested as she was forced into the passenger seat, "They shoulda' locked you up for not helping my baby girl!"

Rick knew there was a chance that his son was watching from his bedroom window, but he didn't look up. He wanted his son's grandparents gone first. Leonard shut the passenger door and turned back to Rick with an exhausted expression, "Look, if you are offering to bring him to us then we'll take it, alright?"

Rick glanced at the car as he lowered his voice "If she's gonna' be like this then I won't"

"She won't", Leonard snapped, "So don't you worry about her. We'll be waiting."

Rick didn't want to show his ex-mother in law that her words bothered him so he stood tall as Leonard went back to his car and backed out of his driveway, but the truth of the matter was that her words got right under his skin.

He saw that Carls window was still open when he was walking back to the house, so his son probably heard their disagreement and Rick would have to speak to him about it later, but his son wasn't the only person who was owed some kind of explanation.

"...Sorry about that. I wasn't expecting...", He scratched his beard as he trudged back to his spot on the porch shamefully, "...that was Carl's grandparents. His mother's parents."

"I see… Well, It's fine.", Michonne offered politely. She was either a great actress or she truly wasn't phased by what she'd seen. He exhaled deeply as he leaned on the porch rail again. He was at a loss for words and didn't want to taint the mood by going into any detail but he quickly discovered that he wouldn't have to. Michonne simply continued to talk as if nothing happened, "...So, you're not going to get back to work on the landscaping?"

He instinctively looked back at the abandoned plants and garden tools on the lawn, "...Oh, yeah. I will. Maybe in a little while."

"...Right.", She clasped her hands together on her lap, "Well, I'm sure that anyone who's had to fend off a grandma with a shotgun before probably has something a little harder than lemonade in their kitchen…"

Rick felt his mood slowly start to elevate. He was still very annoyed but at least he could forget about Lori's parents with some company, and Michonne was proving to be great company. He presented her with a weak smile as he proposed a drink, "Whiskey?"

Her head jerked back an inch.

"My mistake", Rick smirked as he stood up straight, "I'll find somethan' else"

"Thank you".

Michonne stayed on the porch while he ventured back into his home and into the kitchen, and it was possible that his son heard his movements because Carl came and found him as he was setting two glasses down on the counter.

He could tell his son was bothered by his eyes; that was where he held all his emotion, much like his mother did. Rick stopped what he was doing and gave him his full attention, "...Your grandparents stopped by"

"I heard", Carl stepped into the room a bit more, "...What did they want?"

"To see you, but your grandmother wasn't really feeling like herself¬"

"She was drunk.", Carl ejected bluntly.

Rick bit his tongue while he thought of a way to respond, "I let them know that you had a friend over¬ but we can go see them tomorrow, if you're up for it?"

Carl shrugged, "I don't care"

That was clear to Rick, but as the gatekeeper between his son and his grandparents, he wanted to keep things civil, "...We can stop by for an hour or two. They'd like to see you."

Carl started to turn around, "Fine."

"Uh, wait", Rick lowered his voice, "Everythan' alright up there? How are you feeling about this?"

Carl seemed to brighten up, "Good. I've been reading his comics and he's been reading mine… I like his dog, too."

"I thought you might.", Rick smirked as he rested his hand on the countertop, "Well let me know if you boys get hungry and I'll whip somethan' up"

"Okay", Carl's gaze darted to the glasses beside his father's hand, "...Is his mom staying?"

Rick stupidly looked down at the glasses too, "Uh, yeah. She's gonna' hang around for a while… You know, just in case"

Carl's dark hair swayed as he nodded his head, "I get it."

It was an indication of how mature Carl was when it came to accepting Andre's differences, and it made Rick so proud. His son was taking it all in his stride and so was Andre, while it was their parents who were wary about every step they took. A generous glass was brandy would calm any remaining nerves they had, but when Rick stepped back on to the porch he saw that Michonne needed to calm down for other reasons.

She was on her cell phone and that annoyed expression was back. He handed over her drink, then proceeded to survey his garden as though he wasn't even paying attention to her conversation.

"...If you wanted to talk then you should have said something before we left. I want to be here if he needs anything so we'll be home later", She was quiet, but firm, "...I don't know, he hasn't even been here long¬ so just _later_ , okay?...Bye."

Rick was beginning to shamelessly store information about her marriage in his mind. Despite what she said earlier, Rick knew that her husband wasn't as worried about Andre as he should be. He knew that she wasn't wearing a wedding ring and most importantly, he knew that her husband annoyed her so much that she couldn't even find the strength to hide it. However, what he didn't know was whether they were just going through a rough patch or on the fast track to divorce, but it made no difference to him. He was too bewitched by her too care.

"Thank you, by the way", She piped up. Her cell phone had disappeared back into the confines of her purse and she was now inspecting her glass, "Brandy?"

"Yeah. It's meant to be somethan' good…", Rick decided to take a seat on the opposite side of the swing, "I got it as a gift from the department on my birthday"

"It smells good", The ice cubes clanked around in the glass as she took a sip. She hummed, "It is good"

Rick took a healthy gulp that burnt his throat, "It certainly is"

Michonne had obviously witnessed him chug his drink, so she made a dry quip, "...I guess that bottle won't be around for long"

The heat from his throat traveled to his cheeks as he glanced at her shyly, "Sorry… I think I needed that"

Michonne smirked as she swished the beverage around in her glass. He heard her clear her throat before she offered sincerely, "...I'm sorry about your wife"

Rick wasn't expecting to hear her say that. He scratched his eyebrow with his thumb as he replied a little dryly, "...Thank you. It was some time ago¬ but still, thank you"

"It's fine", She snuck a quick glance at him before taking another sip of her drink again. Rick felt so uneasy that he scratched the same spot on his eyebrow again, but Michonne wasn't done yet, "...Was she unwell?"

Rick's uncertain gaze met hers. He could take some comfort in the fast that she wasn't looking at him like everyone else did when Lori came up in the discussion. She seemed interested but not willing to probe too much. He got a hold of his breathing before he said, "Yeah. She wasn't well."

Michonne was much like his son and had very emotive eyes. She did manage to say, "I see"

He avoided fidgeting with himself for the third time. Talking about his wife shouldn't cause him to react the way that he did, but it did. Neither of them rushed to say anything else after that, and it could have lead to an awkward silence if Michonne hadn't knocked on her chest after taking a swig of her drink.

" _Jesus_ ", She coughed out quietly as she tried to compose herself.

Rick showed his concern, "I'm sorry, I should have asked if you even wanted somethan' like that before I brought it out¬"

"No, it's okay", She held up one of her manicured nails to stop him, "...Let's just hope Andre can carry me home"

Rick almost chuckled, "If you got in such a state because of me then I'd be obligated to carry you home myself"

"Thanks…", She kept her gaze on everything else in their view except him, but that didn't offend him because he caught a glimpse of a coy smile on her face.

He mimicked her and looked at the rest of the neighborhood as he said, "No problem".


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

"I'm here! I'm here!... I'm here!"

Michonne sat back in her seat as she waited for Carol to appear at her door in a breathless mess. Every weekday morning the silver-haired woman would race into the office in such a state, even though she was never more than five minutes late.

That morning was no different, and she burst into the room with a thin, shimmery scarf draped around her neck and her trench coat hanging from her body. She managed to have one box in her hand and her purse in the other, but papers seemed to be fluttering down to the floor from somewhere. She gave Michonne a weak smile, "I'm here!"

"I can see that", Michonne shook her head in despair as she saw back in her tall chair, "I really wish you wouldn't kill yourself to get here"

"Oh nonsense, it's the only way I can travel", Carol backed away from the door and turned to her desk, "How was your weekend?"

"It was great. Spent it with Andre…", Michonne picked up her pen and started jotting down notes again, "What about yours?"

"Well, I took Sophia to this acting class¬ She's been bugging me about it for a while now so I finally signed her up and it was actually really good", Carol dumped her things down, then came back into the office, "She didn't want it to end"

"That sounds good", Michonne put the pen back down, "Where was it?"

"At this little independent theater", Carol smoothed the front of her blouse with her hand, "So how much do you have left to do?"

Michonne used her thumb to point at the boxes beside her desk, "Just this small mountain of cases. I should be done in… six months? Maybe seven?"

"God, If only we had six or seven months", Carol sighed as she eyed all the case files, "I'll put a fresh pot of coffee on"

"Thank you", Michonne peered back down at her desk, "I need to get through ten of these today at the very least. I might take some home with me later so I can cut down the load quicker"

"Isn't the Commissioner coming by today?"

Michonne's eyes darted back up to Carol, "Shit. He is."

Carol cringed, "I'll check what time he's meant to get here; then get the meeting room set-up"

"Yes, please do", Michonne couldn't believe that she'd forgotten about such an important meeting, "Hopefully that won't take up too much time…"

Carol scoffed as she walked out the room, "I'm afraid not. That man can talk."

Michonne groaned once she was alone. So much of her focus had been placed on Andre that she wasn't keeping on top of her workload. She had to find some kind of balance, and quickly. The time she had to familiarise herself with the cases was dwindling away, and if she really wanted to make a great impression then she had to buckle down and do what she did best; work.

She read case after case while emailing Mike here and there. Though she was perfectly capable of handling the lawsuit against her son's school, taking his offer to use his small army of lawyers would give her a chance to catch up with work, and it would be the least that he could do for his son and she wouldn't feel as though she was juggling everything on her own.

That was one of the reasons why she wished he'd visit more, or at least move closer to them. He was an amazing father when he was around and she knew that Andre enjoyed spending time with him, but spending the odd weekend with him simply wasn't enough, and she intended to make that issue known.

"The meeting room's all set", Carol announced as she popped her head around the door frame, "Was there anything you wanted in there¬"

"Oh, yes", Michonne spun her chair around and grabbed some papers from the printer, but paused when she saw some sheets on the fax machine, "Oh…"

"What is it?", Carol came into the room.

"Oh, nothing¬ Just the police report from that incident at Andre's school", Michonne set the report to one side and held the other sheets out to Carol, "Can you set these out for me in the meeting room, please? It's just a run through of some of the things we need to cover"

"Got it."

Michonne glanced at the report as Carol left the room, but tried not to pay it too much attention for the time being. She would thank Rick when she got the chance, but knowing she would have to come face to face with him, again and again, made her a little apprehensive.

He was a flirt, teetering on the edge of being shameless about it. When his eyes fixed on her, they'd stay there and she'd have to look away. His compliments were subtle, and he was undoubtedly charming. She couldn't call him sleezy because he was far from it. She would call his behavior harmless if he hadn't made her laugh so much. Or if he hadn't made her blush the way that she did. She felt guilty for it all. She sat in his company for far too long, without a care in the world.

She scolded herself for it later, especially when she went home to face an annoyed Oscar. She truthfully didn't care that he was in a mood, but the fact of the matter was that he was her husband, and they had both agreed to treat each other better. They'd both agreed to try harder with their marriage, even though nothing had changed in the weeks since their agreement. He still aggravated her as much as he did beforehand, and the word 'divorce' still sat at the tip of her tongue.

"And how was your day?", Michonne sang the question to her son when she picked him up from school later that day.

Andre fastened his seat belt after dumping his book bag in front of his seat, "Fine."

"Yeah? You do anything fun or exciting?"

Andre's serious gaze fluttered in her direction, "...Besides learning?"

"Besides learning. Did you at least enjoy your classes? Or lunch?... Did you see Carl?"

"Yes. We ate lunch in the library.", Andre wasted no time retrieving his comic book after he was buckled in.

Michonne looked at him with surprise, "Oh? You had lunch together?"

"Yes."

She bit her lips together in a bid to hide her excitement. The fact that he was having such simple social interactions without being goaded into it was a success. She knew that he liked his afternoon with Carl over the weekend, but a part of her feared that he wouldn't continue to spend time with the other boy unless someone made the arrangements to get the two of them together. It was why she was reluctant to make any further arrangements with Rick.

She composed herself as she started to drive, "...You know I think it's great that you and Carl are getting to know each other…"

"I know.", Andre quipped back as he lifted his comic book to his face, "You're not subtle"

She side eyed him, "I'll have you know that I _can_ be subtle"

"I'm up to the part where Marceline gets a pony from her dad for her deathday party…", Andre started to mutter as he began reading.

"And I've lost him…", Michonne huffed, "Enjoy that as much as you can now because you have to put it away soon"

He didn't respond, and she didn't expect him too.

It was their final week at Just Partners, and Michonne was sad to see it end. She wished she hadn't been so reluctant to take part in the first place because she loved working alongside her son. She loved seeing him participate in tasks that he'd usually walked away from. Well, he still did walk away from tasks that he had no interest in, but when she was able to talk him into trying, they both ended up having fun. She wasn't ready for that to end.

When they arrived at the Lenox center, she wrestled his comic book away from him and proceeded to drag him into building with the promise of returning it to him later. They signed in at the front desk like they normally did, then made their way to the hall.

"...The first week of Just Partners was all about getting to know one another, the second week was about understanding each other... The third was about working together in teams, and this final week will be about communicating with each other effectively", Andre strolled around in a small space as she spoke to the parents and students, "Now you may think that we've spent the last few weeks communicating with each other every day, which is true but the aim of the tasks that we have this week is to really take into consideration who we are as individuals. You all know what it is that brought you here, and we want every single one of you to come away from this program with closure. We want parents to have a better understanding of their kids and we want kids to have a better understanding of themselves…"

Michonne glanced in her son's direction and saw that he was inspecting one of his dreadlocks with great interest. She had her work cut out for her.

"To get this afternoon started, we're going to start with some arts and crafts!", Andrea's cheer was met with groans. She waved her hand dismissively at them all, "Now come on, this will be a chance for you all to show off your creative side! We've provided you with paper, markers, glitter, stickers¬ the whole works, and what you'll be doing is making a type of mood board about your parent or child. Write down all the great things that you can think of when that person comes to mind, and the things you think they can work on... and to make sure that there's no peeking, you'll be sitting with your partner's parents, and parents with their partner's kids"

Michonne looked at Andre again as she whispered, "This sounds like fun, right?"

Her son froze for several seconds, then focused on his hair again. She could take some solace in knowing that he may treat his mood board like school work and do it accordingly; minus the glitter.

"Michonne, Andre", Rick greeted as he brought his son over to them when it was time to find a workstation, "Everythan' alright?"

"Yeah, fine", She stood up and gave Carl a friendly smile, "Are you looking forward to this Carl?"

The teen looked just as excited as Andre did. He shook his head, "I can't really draw…"

"That's okay", She insisted, "Just use loads of glitter and stickers. It hides everything."

Carl smirked, "I might have to do that…"

Michonne let her eyes slide up to Rick's, "So I heard that you were meant to be at the¬"

"The meeting with the commissioner", He finished for her, "I was, but I was held up with a domestic complaint downtown. How'd that go?"

"It went well…", Michonne watched as Carl started to make his way towards a workstation and Andre slowly did the same, "...We just went over some of the cases that I wanted to bring forward and stuff like that"

"Yeah?", Rick unbuttoned his jacket and placed his hands at his sides, "Well if you're available sometime this week then I can stop by and we can catch up then"

"Oh?", Michonne blinked at him, "I mean, _sure_ …"

"If you don't mind that is? It's just that, uh…", He adjusted his stance and seemed to appear a little shy, "I'll be taking on a new role at the department soon so I gotta' stay on top of everythan' that's going on"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "A new role?"

"Yeah. I'll be Captain of the criminal investigation unit starting at the end of this month"

"Well congratulations", She flashed him a small smile, "Captain Grimes"

His cheeks glowed, "Thanks, that's gonna' take some getting used to…"

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it", Seeing him so bashful amused her, "So um, you can just stop by the office when you can. This is my last week going through cases so I haven't got anything else important lined up… I'll just be chained to my desk."

"Alright", He started to stare again, but thankfully Andrea was at hand to nudge them to the task.

Andre was sitting at the workstation when she passed him, and Carl was doing the same. Neither had even tried to start working on their mood boards, but encouraging Carl to do it would be easier than with her own son, or so she hoped.

"So… do you know what you want to write down?", She asked the teen as she took a red marker in her hand.

Carl nodded his head as he did the same and picked up a blue pen, "Yeah… Kinda."

"...Maybe start off with his name and branch out from there?", She figured that the best way to get Carl to open up would be to get him working, "...What pops into your mind when you think about your dad?"

He shrugged one of his shoulders, "...Brave…"

"That's a good one", She wrote her sons name in the center of the paper, "What else?"

"...Strong", Carl started to write, too, "...He's not really afraid of anything"

"See? You're on a roll…", She peaked at the teen, "Sounds like you really look up to him"

Carl shrugged again, "...I did a lot when I was I kid…"

Michonne peaked at him again, "That's natural. I think we all do… My dad worked in a factory, and I used to pretend that I did too. He helped make cars and I helped make… a mess"

"That's funny", He snickered at her joke, "...I did want to be an officer when I was young but now I know it's not so easy"

"It's not, but you could probably do it if you really wanted to"

"Nah. I'm not like my dad"

Michonne didn't like hearing the teen put himself down, "You want me to believe that you've never done anything brave in your life?"

He shook his head, "...No? I don't think so"

"Never saved a kitten from a tree? Rescued a little boy from a well?"

The teen started to laugh, "Nope"

"Stopped someone from choking on a grape?"

He shook his head again, "Not even once… have you?"

"...Well, I don't usually like to talk about my acts of bravery but…", She flicked her dreads over her shoulder as she sighed, "I saved a whole city from a madman once"

"No way", Carl narrowed his eyes at her, and a wide smile spread across his face, "I don't believe you"

"It's true. It happened a few years ago… you see, he had poisoned the water supply with some sort of fear-inducing hallucinogen, and since nobody could stop him, and I was in a financial position to don an alter ego at night-"

"Batman", Carl was a splitting image of his father when a chuckle burst from his lips, "That's Batman"

She shook her head defiantly, even though she was unable to keep a straight face anymore, "That's what they want you to believe, but that movie was actually based on me"

The teen seemed genuinely humored, "That's one of my favorite movies"

"It's Andre's favorites, too. We have these 'movie nights' almost every other day and he usually picks something to do with superheroes"

"Really? That's cool"

Michonne really didn't want to think of herself as a pushy parent, and the best thing for her to do would be to let her son know that Carl had the same taste in movies, but chances of her son doing anything with that information were slim, so she made a light-hearted suggestion, "...Well, maybe you can join us one night? Obviously, you'd have to check with your dad first, but I think Andre would like that…"

"Yeah? Well I don't think my dad would mind", Carl glanced in his father's direction, "I'll ask him"

"Alright then", Michonne felt that bubbling excitement again but made a mental note not to interfere with their friendship any further. Her son needed to be able to exercise the few social skills he had and she couldn't keep hovering around him, even though she desperately wanted to, "...So, since the theme this week is communicating, I'd just like to say that you seem like a really nice, considerate boy, and I can not understand how someone like you ended up in the company of those boys?"

Carl's bright eyes quickly looked away from her, "...I was just stupid"

"I don't think that's true. I've heard that you're really smart, so maybe it was something else?"

The teen took his time reaching for another colored marker pen, "...No one really talks to me at school, but they did"

Michonne began to retrieve every piece of information she'd heard about the family from the back of her mind, so she could put the chain of events in order, "Really?"

"Yeah", He appeared full or shame when he glanced at her, "...I knew that they did stupid stuff but they always said they were just kidding. I think it made me feel better about hanging out with them."

"Sounds like you were just happy for the company?"

"I was for at first, but after a while… I just didn't want to be on my own so I just stayed with them", He shrugged as though his reason wasn't good enough, "It wasn't worth it though."

"Yeah, sometimes we have to make a few bad decisions to really learn a lesson", Michonne offered kindly, "And you're certainly not the first person to stick with someone that you know that's no good for you"

She could relate to her own statement, and so did Carl, "Yeah. It still sucks though…"

"You know, when I was a little younger than you, I really wanted to impress my biology teacher, so I¬"

"Your biology teacher?", Carl started to smile again.

"Yes, my biology teacher.", She scoffed, "I really wanted to impress him and I usually did… but there was this boy in my class who was also eager to please, and he was my biggest competition, so when we had to work together on this big project, I was _furious_ "

Carl was so engrossed in her story that he'd put the pen down completely.

"Fortunately for me, he was sick the week that we had to do it, and I thought he wouldn't help but _of course_ he did… So because he was sick, I told him to send me all his notes and I'll put the presentation together… But I lied. I purposely left out his notes, so that when we gave the presentation, he was just standing there like an idiot and it looked like I did all the work"

"Really?", Carl looked shocked, "What happened?"

"I felt horrible, so I had to come clean to the teacher and apologise to him", She cringed at the memory, "I know it doesn't sound that _bad_ now but he was really sick and he still did the work, and I could tell that he was really worried about his grade… He kinda' forgave me for it"

"...And were you friends after that?"

She nodded her head, "Yep. We're still friends now…He's actually Andre's dad"

"Really?", Carl's eyebrows sprung up in surprise, "That's so cool… Do you laugh about it now?"

"No, he's still not over it", She deadpanned, causing the teen to burst into a fit of chuckles again.

Her afternoon with Carl was such a treat that she almost felt bad for thinking that he was a bully, and Rick was right to describe him as shy and withdrawn. Even though he was engaging with her, she could see that he was a little unsure of himself, but he certainly didn't hold back when it came to his father. When she was able to see the finished product of his mood board, he'd wrote nothing but praise for him, and she got the distinct feeling that the son didn't think he measured up to the standard his father had set.

It made her think about Andre's relationship with the two father figures he had in his own life. Neither of them was doing enough for him and it was time that she enforced that. Oscar usually stayed out of the way when Mike came to visit but her time with Carl had inspired her to want to do things a little differently this time around.

"Are you busy this weekend?", She asked Oscar later that evening when he was preparing dinner in the kitchen. He seemed to be in a good mood when she returned home, so she hopped her idea would be met with a positive reaction.

"Well, Andre's gonna' be with his dad…", Her husband tore his attention away from the pot on the stove for a second, "I have some things to finish up… Why?"

"I was thinking that you could also spend some time with Andre and Mike? Maybe lunch or something?", She leaned on the kitchen counter, "...You've never done anything like that before"

Oscar deeply inhaled as he stirred his special sauce, "Mike hasn't been down here for a while. Andre needs alone time with him."

"I know, and I agree… But I think if you want to get back on track with Andre then it would be nice for you to join them for a few hours"

He glanced at her for a second, "I thought you were gonna' suggest we did something together"

Her lips clamped together. She wasn't expecting him to say that.

"We could have done something on Saturday when Andre was at that boy's house, and I thought you'd wanna' make it up somehow"

Michonne immediately frowned, "Make it up somehow? Why do I have to make up for something that we didn't agree on? If you wanted to talk, you should have said something. You _didn't_ "

"I shouldn't have had to say anything, Michonne", He frowned back at her, "He's fifteen years old and he was around the corner. You didn't have to stay over there the whole time he¬"

"It was his first time going over to a friends house", She nearly spat the words from her mouth, "I wanted to be there for him, so stop trying to make me feel as if I did something wrong"

Oscar shook his head in disbelief as he turned the stove off, "Right."

"If you want to do something together then speak up about it. Don't assume I that know what you're thinking, Oscar", She stared at the side of his face, "I don't mind. I'm not against it"

"Fine. We'll do something then."

It was the least romantic way to initiate some kind of date night between them, but Michonne wouldn't have expected anything else. They were still stuck in an unfortunate place and It grated on her nerves.

Everything outside of her son was a strain; her husband was a strain, her work was a strain, and her social life consisted of only a few chats with Carol in the office. She hated how mundane her daily routine had become, and it dawned on her that she was enjoying the 'Just Partners' program so much because it was something new and different. She could spend time with her favorite person in the world while socializing with others and doing tasks that she wouldn't have done otherwise. It gave her something to look forward to after a stressful day in the office and something to think about when she returned home to her moody husband. She didn't want that vibrancy to end.

Until she could find something else to feed her adventurous side, she still had to knuckle down at work.

She was due to be introduced to King's County law enforcement that following weekend and she didn't doubt for one second that she would encounter some keen folk that were eager to quiz her on her knowledge. Her background could bring out the spite in others, so she would have to perform even better than what would be expected of her.

"Here's your coffee", Carol carried in two cups as she hurried across the room the next day. She was 'late' again that morning, "I ordered us in this Ethiopian blend, so I hope it's nice"

"Thank you", Michonne dropped her pen on the desk and took the hot cup from her, "Ethiopian?"

"Yeah. Apparently, they're better at coffee than us", Carol snicked before she took a sip, and her bright eyes immediately lit up, "Jesus, that is good"

Michonne did the same and took a tiny sip since it was still steaming hot, but the little sip she did take was full of flavor. She moaned, "Wow. Was it expensive?"

Carol gave her a knowing look, "Of course it was, but it's worth it if you ask me"

"It definitely is…", Michonne took another sip.

"I wish you would have joined us for lunch", Carol gawked at all the paperwork spread across her desk, "We went to that little sandwich place down the street"

"I wish I did too, but…", Michonne waved her hand over her work, "I'm blazing my way through this"

Carol gave her a sympathetic look, "...How do you remember it all?"

She snorted, "I'm wondering if I am remembering anything at this point"

"Well at least take a quick break for lunch, you can't just have a coffee¬", A knock at the door caused Carol to look over her shoulder. Michonne tilted her head to see who it was; Rick. He stood at the door with his blazer in hand, and Carol was quick to greet him, "Rick! How are you?"

"I'm doing just fine, and yourself?", He slowly stepped into the room and gave the silver-haired woman a hug.

"I'm great, what are you doing here?", Carol glanced back at Michonne when she pulled away from the embrace, "You don't have any meetings down?"

"Oh no, this was something we set up because he wasn't here with the commissioner", Michonne explained as she rose from her seat.

"Oh yes! So should I set up the meeting room or?"

"No, it's fine. We can talk in here", Michonne began neatening up her desk while the two friends caught up with each other.

"How's Carl doing? I haven't seen him in so long", Carol probed.

"He's doing fine", Rick replied, "How about Sophia? I see her sometimes on her way to school"

"Yeah, she's great. Really good… We have to get together soon because it really has been too long"

"I know and I agree. It would be nice to see everyone again properly and not just in passing"

"Exactly", Carol gave him a warm smile, "Well let me get you something to drink¬ water? Coffee?"

Rick nodded his head, "Uh just some water, if that's alright?"

"Coming right up"

Michonne wished they'd spoken for longer so she could also neaten herself up; she'd kicked off her heels under her desk and untucked her blouse from her skirt. In her mind, she looked a mess, but there was nothing she could do about it because Rick turned to face her as soon as Carol left the room, "Everythan' alright?"

"Yeah, fine", She quickly wrapped her locks up in a bun on top of her head, "How are you?"

"I'm doing just fine", He slowly strolled up to her desk, "Is this a good time? I should have called first¬"

"No, it's fine", She smoothed her blouse as she looked around her, "Carol was just saying I need a break and… I guess she's right"

Rick set his blazer on the back of the chair, "Seems like you have a lot do here?"

"Oh no, I've just got all this left. There was a lot more a few weeks go", She sat back down in her tall desk, "Take a seat"

"Thank you"

"So, um…", Her eyes didn't leave her desk for some time because she was looking for something in particular, "Sorry, I made something for the talk we had but I can't remember where I put it"

"It's alright, take your time", He sat back in his seat, just as Carol came back into the room with his glass of water for him.

"I'll just be at my desk", Carol informed Michonne, "Should I order you something in?"

"Oh no, don't worry about it, I'm fine", She flashed her a smile, "Thank you"

"Alright, no problem"

Michonne finally found what she was looking for and muttered, "Here it is"

"...I enjoyed working with Andre yesterday", He declared as he watched her, "He actually helped me a lot with that task… I didn't realize how limited my vocabulary was until I saw some of the words that he was using"

She looked up with him with a smile, "Well I saw that you helped him with the designs"

"I tried my best… I'm not really the artistic type", He scratched his brow with his thumb, "So I guess we bonded over trying to make it look presentable"

"I liked them all. They looked great", She insisted politely as she held out some sheets to him, "This is just what we went over"

"Oh, thank you", He took she them from her and quickly began skimming over the words on the paper.

"It's mainly about the cases I want to get started on, and how I'd like the police departments corporation…", To Michonne's horror, her stomach made a frighteningly loud rumble just as she finished her sentence.

She hoped that he was kind enough to pretend that he didn't hear her call of hunger, but his icy gaze met hers a second later, "I heard that."

"...I haven't had time to get lunch", She averted her attention to her desk again, "So get used to hearing that"

"Well, why don't we take this somewhere else?", He perked up as he made the suggestion, "We can go to the diner? Talk over food"

"Aren't you on duty?"

"I'm on a break", He replied coolly, "And my partner knows where I am"

"...Well, honestly¬ it's fine. I've worked through worse", She insisted lightly.

"That doesn't sound healthy", The corner of his mouth curled up into a lopsided smile, "My treat?... We can bring the desk if you like?"

"Very funny", She rolled her eyes as she smirked, then gave in a little too easy for her liking, "Alright, fine. Just let me grab some things first…"

"Sure", His gaze trickled down to her desk and landed on a picture frame, "May I?"

"Go ahead", She glanced at the picture herself as she slipped her feet back into her heels, "He was five years old then"

Rick's eyes danced around the picture and he immediately began to smile.

"We were at this school event and he didn't really like it, so he closed his eyes and kept his blanket over his eyes the whole time we were there", She snickered at the memory, "He only lifted it up when I promised him one of those toffee apple things¬ And even then, he ate it under the blanket"

"...When did he stop using the blanket?"

"When he realized that he could just hide behind his hair instead"

Rick continued to stare at the picture while she gathered a few papers together and slipped them into a file. She wasn't sure why the image grabbed his attention so much until he asked, "Has he always been able to defend himself?"

Michonne's actions slowed for a second or two, "He has. He can hold his own pretty well"

"He's certainly got a good swing on him."

When the soon to be captain had first told her that her son almost punched him, she didn't really react because it was bound to happen; Andre had been attacked, which lead to his meltdown. Now that they were a lot friendlier with each other, she felt the need to apologize, "Yeah...Sorry about that. He was probably just¬"

"Upset. I know", His forehead creased just a little, "He had a good reason to be."

As a man of the law, it was his job to be understanding of every possible situation he faced, but something about the way he took her sons difficulties in his stride made her feel at ease. She was so used to explaining Andre's actions to people that didn't understand the troubles that he faced, that she didn't think that Rick would be any different, but he was.

They left her office under the curious eyes of Carol, and he offered to drive them in his squad car instead of her SUV. She didn't mind, as she was secretly interested to see him in partial 'officer mode'. Whenever she'd been in his presence before, he was calm, relaxed and hardly any different to the other fathers in town, but as soon as he started to drive she noticed a change in his demeanor; He sat up a little straighter and his focus was on everything on the outside of the car. He still spoke to her as he usually would but his eyes let her know that he was ready for anything to happen.

The lunchtime rush had dwindled away when they arrived at the diner, so there were only a few other customers sprinkled around the eatery.

"...So what made you want to get involved in the law enforcement move down here?", He asked her smoothly once they'd been seated in a small booth by the large, glass window. It was a picturesque setting, "It's a small town compared to some places…"

Michonne was about to start unloading her work but put it off to answer his question, "I knew it would be a challenge, and I wanted to do it"

He raised his eyebrow at her, "A challenge as in…"

"How many black female D.A's have you had around here?"

"Point taken.", His eyes were getting stuck on hers again, "And how do you feel now you've done it?"

"The challenge hasn't even started yet. I mean sure, I've got the job but I have to be able to do the job, and I have to be able to do it better than everyone that did it before me. Once I've done that, then I've done it"

"That's an impressive way to look at it"

"Thank you", She had to look away from him, so averted her gaze to the menu, " _Also_...I'm not sure if Carl told you but I may or may not have invited him to watch movies at our home... on Andre's behalf"

Rick seemed humored by her admission, "You may or may not have invited him?"

"It depends who you ask. If you ask my son then I most definitely did not. He let me know that he thinks that I wasn't subtle about the way I felt towards their friendship, so if he finds out that I asked Carl over then¬"

"You'd prove him right?", He finished her sentence with a sly grin on his face.

She gave him a dull stare in return, "Partially"

" _Completely_ ", He eventually laughed, "That's fine by me. Just let me know when you want it to happen and we'll make it happen. Carl would probably love that"

"I'd hope so…", She dropped her gaze back to the menu, "He wrote a lot of great things about you yesterday...Seems to really look up to you"

There was a little delay in his response, "...Yeah. To tell you the truth I was quite surprised by some of the thangs he wrote. I didn't know he felt that way"

She glanced up at him, "Did you expect a teenage boy to be vocal about something like that?"

"Well, no", He smirked, "But… He was always a lot closer to his mother. He thought the world of her… He still thinks the world of her"

Michonne wished that he had given her some kind of indication that he was about to embark on a sensitive topic. She clasped her hands together on the table, "Now you know he feels the same about you"

"Yeah…", He pressed his lips together as he gazed down at the menu absentmindedly, "I do"

The mood had taken a dive that Michonne wasn't prepared for. It was the second time they'd danced around the topic of his wife, so she was beginning to think that it was something he wanted to talk about, so she asked quietly, "...I hope you don't mind me asking but what happened?"

His eyes shot up from the menu so quickly that it almost scared her. There was another delay in his response, and she was seconds away from telling him to forget about her question when he answered in an equally quiet voice, "She was going through some thangs, and she decided the best way to deal with that would be...to take her own life".

Michonne gave him a slow, understanding nod to show that she was receiving his answer, and she hoped that she appeared to have an empathic look on her face instead of a shocked one.

Due to the nature of her career, she had heard all kinds of tales before about, some more gruesome than others and some that were too heartbreaking to speak on again, but it was still a little more dreadful to hear of sorrow from people she knew personally. She silently cleared her throat, "...Have you talked about it since? You and Carl?"

His eyebrow arched as his gaze trailed the air around her, "No… Not the way we should have"

"...Maybe you should think about doing that someday", She kept her tone void of any judgment, "...The theme this week is 'communication' after all, so maybe use it as a gateway"

His gaze remained vacant for a moment more before he indicated that he agreed with a short nod, "Yeah. Maybe you're right."

"...I usually am", She muttered under her breath as she peered down at the menu.

Her light-hearted joke didn't go unappreciated; his eyes lit up to show his amusement, "I heard that"

"Good, because you were meant to."

The waitress appeared at the head of the table when it was time for them to place their orders, and the distraction gave Michonne the chance to reflect on what was happening; they were meant to be discussing work, but they weren't. She hadn't even made an attempt to steer the conversation in the right direction, and it felt more like a lunch date than a meeting. She couldn't continue that way, so as soon as the waitress work she began retrieving her documents from earlier, "So… why don't we get started…"

"Sure", He watched her move as he placed his forearms on the table, "Sorry I got us off track there…"

"It's fine", She plucked the paper from its file, "I think we both got off track there…but really, it's fine. We might not spend too much time on this, anyway¬ The commissioner already gave me the green light on a lot of these things…"

He took the papers from her, "I wouldn't expect anythan' different from him. He's a great man and even greater at his job"

"He seems like a great man"

"...Sometimes you might have to push him along though. He… he has a tendency to really keep the conversation going when it shouldn't be"

She acted as though she were remaining professional, "I didn't notice"

"Oh? You didn't?"

"No.", She shook her head as their eyes met, "It was great hearing about every single step he took throughout his career. It was very informative for me."

Rick's shoulders bounced up and down as he started to laugh, "That story usually takes him thirty minutes to tell"

She couldn't hold back her smile any longer, "Well I guess that he treated me to the extended version of that"

He tried so hard to stop himself from erupting into a chuckle that he snorted, causing Michonne to hide behind her documents as she cackled. She felt terrible for laughing because the commissioner was a very friendly and helpful man, but Rick's humorous side was so contagious that she was dizzy after her giggling fit.

"Oh boy", He wiped his eye with his knuckle as he calmed down, "He really is great though"

"Yeah, he is…", Michonne checked her hair was still in place as she straightened up, "In spite of what I said earlier about a challenge, most people have been a great help… Yourself included"

He seemed genuinely taken back, "Me?"

"Yes. I don't actually think I thanked you for sending over that police report", She crossed one leg over the other beneath the table, "Or for bringing him home that day"

"You did, but…", He held his head up a little higher, "You don't have to thank me for anythan' I've done"

"I know it's your job but I can still thank you"

He tilted his head ever so slightly, "That's not the only reason I've done what I've done…"

It wasn't the kind of admission that she could brush off as something innocent. She tried, but failed, "Um, I think¬"

"I just wanna' say that I hope that the boys aren't the only ones that leave this program with someone new in their life...", He caught her gaze, whether she liked it or not, "I've enjoyed getting to know you and I'd like for this to continue when we're done with everythan'..."

She could no longer turn the other cheek, "Well I've enjoyed getting to know you too, and I think that the boys could really benefit from the two of us having a friendly relationship, so if we're going to take anything away from this then I hope it's just that"

He repeated her last two words, "Just that?"

"Yes..", The tiniest frown lines appeared between his brows, "...I am married, after all"

Whatever she was hoping her little speech would do, didn't work. He didn't even blink when he said, "I know."

It wasn't the kind of confirmation that she was expecting. His 'I know' sounded more like 'I don't care'. It was her queue to say something again, and she knew that she should have addressed it but her rational side had taken flight. She was sat there staring into his eyes just as much as he was staring into hers. She backed down when she shouldn't have, "...I think it's time we got started on this"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update! I was so ill and it just took all the strength out of me for a while, but I'm getting back to my usual messy self, so really hope you lovely angels enjoy this update - and **thank you so much** to those of you who left me feed back about how I plan to update in the future! I really appreciate it! (I still haven't figured out what I'm doing because I'm moving soon so shit's about to hit the fan, but I will certainly let you guys know!).

\- Bae

Chapter Nine:

"Woah", Carl looked his father from head to toe when he appeared in the living area, "Nice suit"

"Thank you, son", Rick adjusted his cuff link as he peered down at himself; The suit he picked out was possibly the nicest thing he owned; it was metallic black, with a matching silk tie and shirt, tailored to fit him perfectly. He would never place himself at the forefront when it came to clothing and fashion, but he did try his best when it came to his suits and his uniform, so he hoped that he looked as good as he felt. "I hope it still looks this way by the end of the night"

Carl smirked as he sat back on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn on his lap, "Good luck with that"

Rick peaked at him, "I also hope that you're not gonna' just plant yourself in front of the TV watching movies. You still need to get to bed at a reasonable time"

"I _know_."

"And if you cook anythan' then make sure you turn everythan' off when you're done"

"I _know._ "

"I've got my phone on me so just call if there's a problem"

"I _know._ "

Rick was noticing a pattern, "Finally, remember that Mr. and Mrs. O'neil know that I'm heading out tonight so they'll probably check on you at some point¬ just in case"

Carl looked at him with a dull expression as he repeated for a fourth time, "I _know_ , dad. I know."

"Alright".

His son had been left alone in the house countless times before, but it was the first time that he was leaving to go to an event without his wife. It felt strange and unnatural, but he had to accept that.

It lead him to wonder whether Lori would be pleased with the way things were going for both he and Carl. He was certain that she'd be overjoyed to see their son was making friends again and that he was slowly beginning to come out of his shell, but he couldn't say the same thing for himself.

If Lori knew that he had became infatuated with a married woman, she would probably be devastated. She wouldn't expect that from the man she left behind, and Rick wouldn't usually expect that of himself, but he considered his situation to be different to any other. He considered Michonne to be different from any other.

When he arrived at the venue where the policeman's ball was being held, other officials and officers were already pouring into the nicely decorated building; tall white jasmine plants lined entrance and the hallway that lead to the hall, and once inside he saw that they'd really gone all out for the occasion. The ceilings were covered in cream drapes that swooped towards the corners of the room and flowed down the wall, and the light fixtures in between the drapes had even more Jasmine flowers drooped around the glass lamp shades. The tables all had a vase in the center, holding even more white flowers, and elaborate dining utensils and napkins placed perfectly at each seat. It was all so formal that Rick had to rack his brain for any table manners his mother taught him as a boy.

"This is meant to be a three-course meal, right?", Theodore asked him curiously when they were seated at their table. The corporal had waved Rick over when he arrived, and Rick was pleased to be seated beside him and his wife. Theodore eyed his dining equipment suspiciously as he said, "Why'd they give us so many plates? They didn't do all of this last year"

"It's nice", His wife piped up as she frowned at her husband, "Stop looking at it like that¬ This is why I can't take you anywhere"

Rick bit his bottom lip as he tried not to laugh, knowing he'd be in for a treat when his partner's wife was around. She was a very funny, sharp-witted woman and easily, one of the most caring people that Rick had ever met. He straightened up as he replied to the earlier question, "It's actually five courses."

"Five?", Theodore sat up excitedly, since he was a very big fan of food, "Well let's get this thing going then"

"Really?", His wife quipped dryly.

"Yes, Sasha", He mimicked her tone, "Can a man not eat?"

"Try not to get your Tux dirty before they start taking pictures because I want something nice to put in the family album", She put her little turquoise purse on the table as her warm brown eyes darted from Theodore to Rick, " _Both_ of you."

"Yes, ma'am", Both men replied in unison.

The other attendees soon stopped greeting each other and began to take their seats, and to Rick's delight the commissioner joined them with his petite and well dressed wife, who was another women who had no problem telling her husband when to zip it in a humorous way; which gave Rick even more to look forward to.

"...You know, I actually remember when this building was used as a part of the police department's training grounds", The commissioner gazed around the hall as he began another one of his infamous stories, "The drills we did back then were nothing like the ones you boys probably did"

Rick and Theodore smiled politely as they listened to his tale, but beneath the table, Theodore was pouring Rick a generous amount of whiskey from his secret hip flask.

"Even the thangs they made us wear were different. Shorts", The commissioner continued, "Wind, hail or snow; us boys were in shorts. And God forbid if you didn't have the right clothes on¬"

"When the hell has it ever hailed or snowed down here?", His wife slowly crossed her arms over her chest as she cocked her head to one side. Her blonde hair swished back and forth as she narrowed her eyes at her husband, "I'll tell you when: _never_."

Rick let a little snort escape as he lifted his weighted tumbler from beneath the table. The commissioner was stumped by his wife's question and looked as though he was ready to argue his point, but his green eyes wandered above her head when someone caught his attention, "Well look who we have here!"

The white-haired man stood up to greet Michonne and her husband as the approached the table. Rick lowered his glass to get a good look at her, and he was glad when he did. She had always been the most glamorous person in the room, even when it wasn't necessary, so he knew she would go above and beyond for such an event. He would have taken a front row seat just to see her arrive.

Her hair was curled and tied away from her face but a few locks hung free. The makeup around her eyes was dark and made her tawny brown eyes glitter even more than usual, and her dress was sensational; She had on a velvet, floor length cosmic blue gown that clung to her slender frame and showed off her defined shape. When she made a small step to the side he noticed that the dress had a thigh-high split that gave the world an occasional glimpse of her bare legs.

Rick almost missed the table when he tried to set his glass down.

The commissioner greeted her warmly, and she went on to introduce her husband, who had a tight smile on his face. He wore a navy suit and stood tall and proud beside her, but there was no contact between the two of them. Rick kept an eye out for it; she didn't touch him when she introduced him and he walked behind her when they joined the table. All Rick could see between them was space and opportunity.

"Let me introduce you to the departments Captain and Corporal over here", The commissioner, waved his hand towards Rick and Theodore, who graciously stood from their seats, "Rick, here, is one of our seasoned officers, been at the department for over a decade and he was actually hand picked by me to join us… And Theodore has been a promising member of the team since the day he joined us almost seven years ago. Great men, both of them. Two of my favorites, in fact"

Rick locked his eyes on Michonne, and she repaid him by looking at anyone else but him, "I've actually met the Captain before; our son's go to the same school"

He didn't like the way she phrased that, so he clarified by adding, "Yeah, they're friends actually"

"Oh! Well ain't that somethan'?", The commissioner cheered as he gave Rick a pat on the back, "You're already acquainted with each other"

 _More_ than just acquainted, Rick thought.

"It's nice to finally meet you, ma'am", Theodore held out his hand to her, "We're looking forward to working with you"

Michonne accepted the gesture with a smile, "Well I'm certainly looking forward to working with you...T-dog"

Theodore froze for a moment, then began to grin, "How'd you know about that?"

"I heard that you were with...", She glanced in Rick's direction, "The captain, when you picked up my son, Andre, a while back"

"That's right, I was. How's he doing?"

"Just fine, thank you. And thank you for helping him", She took a tiny step back, then motioned towards her husband, "And this is my husband, Oscar."

Oscar didn't extend a hand. He chose to nod instead, and peered down his nose at them, "Good Evening"

Rick raised a single brow as he acknowledged him with a nod as well. The atmosphere changed almost immediately.

"Well I think it's time we took our seats", Michonne plastered a false smile back on her face as she clutched her little diamond purse with both manicured hands.

"Why don't you show me who you're seated with so I can introduce you", The commissioner offered, "I can tell you some great stories about every single person in this hall because I've worked with almost everyone here"

"He's gonna' be over there for a while", Theodore mumbled, causing Rick to smirk just as a stone-faced Oscar looked in their direction again. Rick simply raised his eyebrows at him, then turned back to his seat.

He considered that to be an awkward encounter between himself and Michonne for two clear reasons; The first being the way she described Carl and Andre as simply going to the same school. They had much more between them and she knew that but he chalked that up to be because of her husband's presence, which leads to the second reason why their encounter was so strange; her dreaded husband was hovering in the background. She didn't even look at Rick when he was there, and that gave him food for thought.

She and her husband were sat at the table beside Rick's, and due to a gap between the attendees at his table and her's, he had a clear view of her from where he sat and he used it to his full advantage, but It became clear to him that she was trying to avoid looking in his direction though, because her gaze moved around from one place to the other unnaturally.

He blamed that on Oscar's presence, too.

The beginning of the night went smoothly; the drinks began to flow and several members of law enforcement spoke to the crowd, including Rick. The overall tone was a relaxed one, and they all roared with laughter from time to time, so when it was finally time for Michonne to take to the stage, she was greeted with a welcoming applause.

She spoke eloquently, and her voice traveled through the microphone like honey. She no longer donned that false smile he had seen her with earlier; she was beaming from ear to ear, especially when she touched on the topic of her son. Rick was genuinely enjoying listening to her speech until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket; it was Carl. He answered the call as he snaked his way out of the hall, being sure to keep his voice low so he didn't draw anyone's attention away from Michonne.

"...I just wanted to know how it's going…", Carl admitted innocently.

Rick didn't believe that at all, "You watched a scary movie, didn't you?"

Carl was silent for a short while, then admitted, "It wasn't that scary at first…"

Rick quietly chuckled as he descended the few steps outside the building, "You should have turned it off"

"…I watched cartoons after but it didn't really help"

"Just keep all the lights on until I get home. If you sit around in the dark then your mind will start to play tricks on you"

"I already put all the lights on", Carl deadpanned, "Even the one in the _garage_ "

Rick laughed a little louder as he rubbed his forehead with his hand, "Oh boy"

"...Is it almost finished?"

"I'm afraid not. We haven't even…", Rick's sentence trailed off when he noticed a familiar figure leave the building and head straight into the parking lot, "...We haven't had anythan' to eat yet"

"Great.", Carl replied a little sarcastically.

"I know, but don't worry I won't be home too late. Just keep yourself busy until you get tired", Rick watched Oscar get to the far end of the parking lot, then disappear between the cars, "I'll call you later if you're still up"

"Alright. Have fun."

"Bye, son", He continued to stare into the distance after he hung up the phone, wondering where Oscar had gotten to, when he saw Michonne's dark SUV pull out, and to Rick's surprise, the truck headed straight for the exit.

It baffled Rick so much that he didn't immediately move when the car was no longer in sight. He didn't think her husband was rude enough to leave so soon, on such an important night, especially without his wife. It could have been an emergency, something to do with Andre, but if that were the case then Rick was certain that Michonne would have left with him without hesitation.

Rick went back into the hall with his hands in his pockets and a deep frown on his face. Michonne had finished her speech but still stood on the stage with the commissioner and one of Kings County's finest Judges. He took his seat again and tried to get back into the spirit of things, but he mind was still preoccupied.

He clapped when he was meant to clap, and kept his eyes firmly on Michonne as she came down from the stage and maneuvered her way back to her table; her reaction to her husband's empty seat would tell him everything he needed to know.

She thanked the people that commended her along the way, and she was still beaming with pride when she reached her table, but he could have pinpointed the exact moment that she realized Oscar was no longer seated there. She peered around the hall as she lowered herself down to the chair, still smiling but only faintly. The other people at the table were eager to bring her into the conversation so she didn't get the chance to really look for him, and Rick hoped that she wouldn't. He wasn't worth the effort.

Their meals for the evening began to arrive shortly after they were done with the speeches and awards.

They were served a light appetizer; gold potato latkes with Scandinavian cured salmon. They then moved on to a roasted pumpkin soup, followed by a beet salad with goats cheese that Rick didn't even touch because he was too curious to know where Michonne had gone. She'd vanished shortly before the salads were set down, and Rick did his best to continue as though he wasn't preoccupied with her disappearance, but he was worried. He didn't want her to be upset, and he didn't want her to waste her night fussing over her pitiful husband either.

He waited until they the waiters came to the table to clear their plates, then made his excuse to leave the table. Everyone around him was beginning to feel the effects of the unlimited champaign, so nobody really noticed that he had slipped away anyway.

He strolled towards the entrance but not without peeking down a few hallways. There was a chance that she'd just locked herself in the ladies room, but she didn't seem like the type. He could imagine her preferring to go outside and sitting somewhere secluded, so he followed his hunch and went out to the front of the building.

He learned that he was right. Michonne was stood off to the side of the building with her arms crossed, looking towards the parking lot. She peered in his direction when she heard his shoes cross the pebbled ground, and to his dismay, she shook her head as she looked away.

For that reason, he kept a friendly distance between them when he was close enough to speak, "...You doing alright?"

"Fine", Her tone was tired and flat, "Just fine."

He slipped his hands into his pockets as he watched her; she didn't look upset, but she certainly looked angry. She had a deep crease between her neatly plucked brows and her full lips were clamped together. He glanced towards the parking lot, then made an offer, "...If you're comfortable with it, then I can take you home later"

Michonne turned her fierce expression towards him and her eyes scanned his face for an explanation.

"...I came out here to talk to Carl while you were up there giving your speech", Rick took a tiny step closer, "I saw him leave"

She scoffed and looked away from him, " _Great_."

He inched closer, "If you'd like to go home now then I'll take you, but I don't think you want to waste a night like this"

She fixed her stare to something in the distance and kept it there.

"...I'm sure that you made a lot of preparations for this", He continued quietly, "And I'm sure that you've already won everyone over in there… so it would be nice if you could come back in and enjoy yourself, but if you want to leave now then I'll take you"

He saw her chest rise when she inhaled deeply. She had said too little for him to know just what she was thinking, and he didn't think that she wanted to discuss her marital problems with him, but he wished she'd give him some indication of what was going through her mind.

"...Is Andre at home?", He stopped inching towards her when he was an arms reach away.

She snapped out of her thousand yard stare and peeked at him, "Yes."

Rick slowly nodded his head, "...If I had known then I would have suggested that he and Carl hang out at our house or somethan'... I know they've been spending a lot of time together since the program ended so it would be nice if we can keep that up"

Steering the conversation away from what had happened seemed to be a good idea. Michonne lowered her gaze as she said, "Yeah."

"...I think Carl would have liked that. He made the mistake of watching a horror movie on his own, so now he's sitting at home with all the lights on in the house… and probably a baseball bat nearby"

The corner of her mouth began to curl up ever so slightly, "...Cute."

He tilted his head in a bid to catch her attention properly, "...You know it's up to you, right? Whether you wanna' go now or later?"

He was hoping that she would say later.

It appeared that she was mulling over the idea when she rolled her eyes up to the evening sky then back down to the pebbles on the ground. Eventually, she replied, "It's fine, I'll call a cab or something later"

"It wouldn't be an issue. I promise", Her reply pleased him, "And I'd feel a lot better knowing that you got home safe, too"

When she met his gaze for the first time that night, Rick finally felt that feeling that he'd been longing for. Not only would his entire body warm when she looked at him, but he felt as though he had a better understanding through her eyes. They were very expressive and easier to read than the rest of her. She breathed the words, "Thank you."

"It's no problem at all", He was so lost in her eyes that he was prepared to do more than just take her home. He would have done anything she asked.

Her gaze fluttered away from him, and she started to tend to her clothing like she always did, "...I think it's time we-"

"Yeah, let's head back inside before they finish all the drinks", He shamelessly watched her hands smooth her dress down at her hips. His gaze almost fell to the slither of thigh she had on display but he had to practice some restraint.

"I could use a drink", She muttered, causing him to smirk. When she was sure that she looked composed, she released a little sigh, "Alright, let's go".

She allowed him to escort her back to the hall, where they quietly returned to their tables. He would have joined her since she had an empty seat beside her, but he wanted to put a little more thought behind his actions than usual. If he came on too strong after everything that happened with her husband then she might get the wrong impression of his intentions, and he didn't want that. Now was his chance to capture her attention like she had captured his.

"I was so happy to hear you made captain. You deserve it, you know that right?", Sasha gave him one of her warm smiles as they stepped together in sync, later that evening. As soon as dessert was cleared away, the DJ took his place and began to play upbeat music to entice everyone to the dance floor, and it worked.

Theodore needed a generous amount of alcohol in his system before he plucked up the courage to dance, so Rick was there to join his wife in the meantime. He responded to her kind comment, "Thank you… and I'm still getting used to the idea, actually"

"Oh stop, you'll be fine. And Theodore will always be right there to help you. I'll make sure of that"

"I believe you", He glanced towards her husband, who was slowly making his way to the dancefloor as he spoke to the commissioner, "I'm hoping that he'll be the one to take over as Sergeant"

"It would be nice if he did. I know he'd be over the moon", Sasha sighed, "I just wish he'd get something that kept him out of harm's way"

"I know, but remember that he's not alone. I've got his back just as much as he's got mine", Rick hoped he could say something to reassure her of her husband's safety, "I mean, he didn't really have my back when that old blind woman tried to shoot me, but¬"

Sasha burst out laughing, "I heard about that. He said she was packing some serious heat"

"She had a shotgun hidden somewhere under her blanket", Rick confirmed dryly, "I couldn't believe it"

"Now you know not to mess with those grandmas. They're the ones you need to be attention to"

"You can say that again", Rick shook his head whilst he peered over her head to see Theodore, "You know...I was actually telling him the other day that I think it's time that we got everyone together again"

"Really? You thinking about having a cookout?", Sasha seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yeah… it's been too long"

Her eyes skimmed all over his face, "No. I think you and Carl needed that time… and if you think you're ready to start doing things like that again, then it means that you're taking a step in the right direction"

He almost agreed with her, "...Yeah"

"...It means you're coping, and that's what we're meant to do when we lose the people we care about the most; we don't push it aside or try to forget about, we cope and we carry on", She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, "And it looks to me like you're doing just that"

He appreciated her words, "Thank you, Sasha"

"It's alright¬"

"Okay, I'm ready", Theodore approached them with heavy lids and a coy smile on his face, "Rick, give me back my wife"

Rick smirked at his intoxicated partner, "Oh boy"

"Oh, God", Sasha groaned as she slowly backed away from Rick, "How much did you drink?"

"Don't you worry about it", Theodore took her by the hand and spun her around, then pulled her into his arms with a lot more control than anyone would have thought.

Rick left the couple alone and went on the prowl.

Michonne had been seated at her table ever since they returned to the hall, and she also hadn't stopped talking to two other officials sat opposite her.

He remembered that she had said that she only danced in the comfort of her own home, so he didn't expect her to make her way to the dance floor voluntarily, but it was when he was gazing at her from across the hall that he was struck with a mischievous idea to get her to move.

"...And this one goes out to our new D.A!", The DJ announced over the microphone shortly after Rick slipped away from the booth, "So can Michonne please make her way to the dance floor?"

A classic Prince song began to play and the crowd reacted with cheers, but Rick was more interested in Michonne's reaction; She was sitting up straight in her seat with a glass hovering by her lips, and her eyes darting from one place to the other, as if she was caught off guard. Rick seized her attention when he made his way towards her with a conceited gait.

"I thought you might need some help getting off that chair", He arched an eyebrow at her when he made his admission.

She cleared her throat and set her champagne flute on the table, "I can assure you that I don't"

Rick couldn't help but notice the number of empty glasses sprinkled in front of her. He simpered, "...Looks like you might need some help at some point though"

She tried to hide her smile by pursing her lips.

He held out his hand to her, "May I?"

He saw hesitation in her eyes when she looked at his extended limb. She began to shake her head when she said, "You don't have to offer me a pity dance"

"That's certainly not what I'm doing", He clarified easily.

She gave him a no-nonsense look, "You wouldn't be asking me to dance if I wasn't alone"

"I'm afraid that it would make no difference to me whether you were alone or not", He replied honestly, "I'd still ask"

He knew she was speechless because it took her a short while to respond, "...Right."

He still held out his hand, "...It would make my night if I could get you up there…I think it's time that you show them how it's done"

Michonne peered at his hand again, and it took her so long to respond that Rick was sure she'd turn him away again, but she slowly reached out and accepted his offer. Heat rushed to his chest when he clasped her soft fingers in his; he felt like a teenager. Even though he was the one that asked her to dance, she led the way, and he followed like she had him on a leash.

Being able to watch Michonne dance was a treat for Rick. She held back at first but once she got into the swing of things, everything changed. She was graceful, every move she made was intentional, and she was a sight worth seeing a million times. The smile that she wore on her face was the most dazzling one yet, and he took that as proof that she had fun with him.

While her moral compass proved to work better than his, since she always remained friendly and platonic towards him, Rick felt that he had reason to believe that she was feeling something similar towards him. He remembered every single time she tried to hide a bashful smile from him and the way she struggled to respond to some of the things he had said. On the rare chance that he could steal her gaze for more than a few moments, she'd always be the one to look away first and he got the impression that she'd force herself to.

But despite the thoughts he held in his mind, he had to know what she was thinking. Frankly, he wanted to hear her say it.

"...I hate to say it but…", He spoke softly as the two of them stepped together to a song with a slower pace, "I'm glad he put this on. I was struggling to keep up with you for a while"

Michonne snorted, "You were not"

"I was", His hand rested safely on her hip while the other held hers, "I thought you were going to pull out some cardboard and start breaking dancing at one point"

She turned away from him as she chuckled, "Very funny"

"You remember those days, right? I hope I don't sound old"

"Of course I remember the eighties", She tutted, "It was a great time…"

"It was. It's a shame that kids these days won't know the joy of it¬"

" _Now_ you sound old", She deadpanned, causing Rick to chortle out loud.

His eyes locked on hers, "I guess I'll keep those thoughts to myself for a while longer"

"Just a little while", Her voice was a little horse, possibly from singing along to every single song for twenty minutes straight, but Rick found it adorable. He wondered if that was what she sounded like first thing in the morning.

"...I hope you don't mind me saying¬"

"Stop right there", She raised an eyebrow at him, "Whenever you start a sentence like that, you usually follow it with something that you're not meant to say"

Rick's head jerked back an inch, "...Because I really hope that you don't mind what I say"

She didn't look convinced, "And what is it this time?"

He dropped his gaze to her lips, then lifted it to her eyes again, "You look beautiful"

She hid her blush from him, "...There it is"

"Was that inappropriate?"

"Almost…", She gently sighed, "...But thank you. You look great, too"

"Thank you", Rick's cheeks warmed, "Have you enjoyed yourself tonight?"

Michonne peered at their clasped hands as she said, "...I have. Everyone here has been great, and… It's been fun"

"Yeah", He resisted the urge to stroke her fingers with his thumb.

"What about you?"

"I agree", He confessed, "I don't think I'll ever forget this"

He expected her to look away, but her guard was down and she didn't. Her skeptical eyes remained on his, her lips slightly parted.

He could no longer help himself, "Can I ask you what you're thinking, Michonne?"

Her eyes widened ever so slightly. She repeated apart of his question, "What I'm thinking?"

He gave her a gentle nod as he rasped, "Yeah"

"...I", She dithered, "... _Nothing_. I'm not really thinking about anything…"

He curled the corner of his mouth, "Nothing?"

"Nothing", She insisted, "...I guess all that champaign finally got to me"

Knowing that she was reluctant to tell him what was on her mind only made him want to know even more, but he wouldn't pester her, "I think I counted ten empty glasses on your table¬"

"Those were _not_ all mine", She retorted dryly.

"You sure about that?", He teased.

She pursed her lips together tightly, but it was clear that she wanted to laugh.

"Don't worry", He ended up stroking his thumb stroking her finger absentmindedly, "Your secrets safe with me"

She shook her head as she chuckled, "I don't have a secret, Rick."

Regardless of the fact that they had spent the last few weeks getting to know each other inside and outside the school program, that very moment was the first time that Michonne had used his name, and it gave Rick a little insight into the way her mind worked.

"Alright", He said with a coy smile.

She'd always referred to him as the Sergeant, and even the Captain, but never by his actual name. He figured that it was her way of keeping some kind of 'friendly' distance between them because when she did finally use his name, it was in an intimate setting. There may have been plenty of other couples dancing around them but they were in their own little bubble, with very little space between them as they danced. She was feeling closer to him.

Rick didn't know how long they had danced for, but he knew it had been too long when the number of people on the dancefloor began to fall. He agreed when Michonne suggested that it was time to leave, so they said their goodbyes to those that remained and left the hall in good spirits, but if Rick had known that it would all change the moment he started to drive them home then he would have been a lot more reluctant to leave.

Michonne grew quiet after spending some time staring at her cell phone screen. Rick didn't see what she was looking at, but he could bet that it was something to do with her husband. Rick had forgotten all about the other man throughout the night, and he was sure that she did too, which was probably why she sobered up so quickly.

He didn't have any idea what she would face when she returned home, or how she planned to deal with Oscar's departure, but he hoped that his behavior that night would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Thank you for bringing me home", Michonne declared tiredly as moved her dress out the way and started to slip her feet back in her heels.

"Hold on, I'll get that", Rick opened the door and stepped out of his vehicle. When he walked around the front of his truck, he noticed that her car wasn't in her driveway, and all but one light remained on in her home.

"You didn't need to do that", She sighed as she stepped on to the curb, "But thank you"

He closed the passenger door for her, "It's fine… I figured that you could use some more time getting your shoes back on"

"My feet refused to go back in them", She smirked.

"I think my feet would have done the same", He peered down at the sky-high heels she wore, "Those can't be comfortable?"

"They aren't", She deadpanned, "But they went well with the dress"

"I can see that", He scratched his brow with his thumb as he snickered, "You think you can make it to the door?"

"Of course", She placed a hand on his truck to steady herself, "If my feet give up then I can always crawl"

"That's one way to look at it", He admired the way she looked one last time, "...You really do look amazing by the way"

"Thanks…", She lowered her gaze and clutched her purse with both hands, "...I think it's time I went inside and checked on Andre, so¬"

Rick didn't mean to interrupt her when he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, but it was a spur of the moment act that he put little thought into. It was his boldest move to date, and essentially just a peck, something gentle and quick, but it was still a kiss. A kiss that made his heart go into overtime. He slowly pulled away as he whispered, "Goodnight"

Michonne didn't immediately move, in fact, she didn't immediately do anything other than blink at him. He realized that she was in shock, and before he could worry that he may have crossed the line, she managed to choke out, "Goodnight, Rick"

His steadily increasing heart rate finally took a decline, and he could breathe easy. He couldn't quite believe what he'd done, or that it had earned him a brief and very faint smile from Michonne, but he was so pleased that he began to say gently, "Michonne, I¬"

Rick had so much to say to her, but as soon as they were both lit up by a set of headlights that were turning into her driveway, he knew the night was well and truly over, and the opportunity was gone.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

"I got your message…", Oscar announced coldly, "Both of them"

Michonne kept her back towards Oscar as they stood in the hallway of their home. She held onto the stair rail with one hand and used the other to rip her shoes from her feet.

Her husband set her car keys down in the side table as he asked, "You do realize what you're asking for, right?"

Michonne spun around in a second, "Excuse me? Do I realize what I'm asking for?"

"You wanna' throw everything away¬ Just like that?", Oscar snapped back, "I admit I was wrong for walking out¬ Maybe I shouldn't have done that¬"

" _Maybe_?", She narrowed her eyes at him, " _Maybe_ you shouldn't have done that?"

"But I had a right to leave, Michonne", He started to pull off his jacket, "You expected me to get all dressed up, just so I can follow you around tonight like some idiot. Then¬ then I'm meant to sit there and listen to you gush about how you got where you were on your own¬"

"I expected you to come and be there with me", She clarified firmly, "I expected you to talk introduce yourself, I expected you to talk to people, I expected you to have a few drinks and maybe even relax for once and I naively expected us to enjoy ourselves tonight¬ that was it"

Oscar gave her one of his cold, defiant stares, "But you did just fine without me though, right?"

She still peered at him through narrowed eyes, "What?"

"You got that cop to drop you home?"

"He offered to take me home and I accepted", She shot him a pointed look, "Because you went into my purse, took my keys and took my car and left¬"

"That's the same cop you've been spending all this time with, right? Him and his son?", Oscar chucked his jacket on the side table a little harshly, "That's the one?"

"What are you trying to get at here?", Michonne asked the question to bide some time and get her thoughts together. Her mind was becoming flustered with the new direction of their argument.

"I probably shouldn't have left, but the first thing you reach for is a divorce¬ and then you got that guy driving you home?", He frowned at her suspiciously, "I pull up and the two of you are standing up there¬"

"I thanked him for bringing me home and we were saying goodnight", She snapped, "Stop trying to deflect from what you did!"

"I'm not trying to deflect away from anything¬ I admitted that I probably shouldn't have done that¬ Maybe I was wrong", He patted his chest with his hand to emphasize his point.

"There is no 'maybe' about it", She shook her head at him, "What you did was wrong, and I'm sick to death of having to deal with stuff like this from you. If it's not one thing then it's the other, and I can't take it anymore"

He shook his head as though he didn't believe her, then muttered under his breath, "Yeah, all of a sudden"

Michonne huffed as she lowered her gaze to his new, black leather shoes that she had picked out for him just for the event. She wished she hadn't even made the effort. She slowly made her way towards the stairs, "I'm going to bed"

"Hold on a second, Michonne", He stomped closer to her, and when she didn't turn to face him, he stole her attention by grabbing on to her wrist to spin her around, "Listen to me; he better not be the reason behind all of this"

She could smell alcohol in the air when his breath hit her face. She reacted angrily and tried to snatch her hand away from him but his grip only tightened, "What the hell is wrong with you? Let go of me!"

"If I find out there's something going on between you and him then we're gonna' have a problem, Michonne"

"Get _off_!", She growled the word's as she tried to twist out of his stronghold.

"I mean it", He warned, raising his eyebrows to stress his point as he tugged her closer, "If you don't tell him to st¬"

Oscar looked up to the top of the stairs when a floorboard creaked from above them; Andre was stood at the top of the stairs, dressed in his night clothes as if he were going to bed, but his eyes were wide awake. He didn't look at either of them but the way he repeatedly balled his hands into a fist let them both know that he was aware of what was happening.

Michonne used the distraction to pull away from Oscar, and when she was free she hurried up the steps to get out of his reach.

Oscar said nothing as he backed away from the staircase and started to walk down the hall, leaving Michonne stunned by his outburst. She even peered at her wrist questioningly, wondering if her husband had really just done what he did. When she heard him slam the door to his studio she finally turned around to face her son, "...Hey, come on¬ go back to your room. Everything's fine"

Andre didn't move any other part of him but his fists.

"Come on, it's late", She touched his arm when she was close enough and urged him to move, "You can tell me what you did tonight in the morning.."

They had heated arguments before, and they'd both taken their frustrations out on furniture when they did, but never before had he reacted in such a way; he had never alarmed her like that before, and he'd certainly never put his hands on her like that either, but then again, he'd never had to worry about another man in his marriage either.

She knew she'd behaved badly that night. She knew that Rick was going to test her from the moment the commissioner attempted to introduce them to each other; the man was so blatant that she had to be discreet for the both of them.

She tried to ignore him as best as she could but that only made her feel more uncomfortable, especially because she knew that he was always leering in her direction. Even after Oscar made his early departure, she thought she'd be fine if she just kept her focus on everyone else, and her plan did work for some time, but that all changed when he asked her to dance.

Things weren't from bad to worse in a matter of minutes; not only did he dance with her but he seduced her into right into his arms, and she allowed him to. She allowed him to put his heavy hand on her hip and she allowed him to caress her fingers with his thumb. She allowed him to get so close to her that she probably still smelt of his oaky cologne.

Knowing his intentions, she should have politely let him down and turned him away, but the truth was that she had already lost the battle against Rick.

As soon as she was under his gaze, everything around her became white noise. So much intensity radiated from his eyes that she wouldn't be surprised to see him set something on fire with just a prolonged stare.

He had the same amount of intensity in his touch. She could have recoiled when he held her. Every nerve in her body pulsed with such excitement that she lost all sense and couldn't pluck herself away if she tried. She descended even further down the rabbit hole when he kissed her. In spite of how brief it was, she remembered exactly how his lips felt on her skin and the way his beard tickled her jaw. She didn't think she'd ever forget that, and fortunately for all involved, Oscar hadn't seen what Rick had done.

That kiss had changed everything. Oscar's threat had changed everything. There was danger in the air and she knew she had to do something to change that. She had asked for a divorce but she now had reason to believe that it wouldn't be that simple.

"Can I go show Carl my new comic book?"

Michonne snapped out of her thoughts when her son spoke to her in her study the next day. She looked down at him with surprise when she said, "Huh? What's that, honey?"

"My new comic book", Andre held the graphic novel up, "I want to show Carl. He likes the Lich."

"Uh… Well we didn't have anything planned", Michonne quickly minimize the tabs on her screen so that her son wouldn't see the divorce-related pages she was looking at, then spun her desk chair around to face him, "You can show him tomorrow¬ outside of class"

Andre hadn't left her side at all that day, the same way that Max didn't leave him. He was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed in front of him and Max's head on his lap, "I can go to his house. I know where he lives; around the corner, Cherokee Avenue, door number eight-one-seven. The house is yellow with a white door. Carl's bedroom is on the top floor to the left."

Michonne blinked at her son, "...It never seizes to amaze me how you remember things like that"

"...Can I go, please", Even though it was a request, Andre's questions often didn't sound like questions because of his monotone.

"You really want to see him?"

"Yes."

She began to shake her head but stopped, "He might not be home though, Andre"

Her son began to look in her direction as he fidgeted with the book.

Michonne internally groaned. Andre was really getting comfortable with the idea of having a friend and she was happy to encourage that, but she wasn't sure how'd she'd cope seeing Rick so soon after the night before. She nibbled on her lip as she thought about it, "...Well, maybe we can check if he's home and not busy, okay?"

Andre replied, "Okay."

She put her grievances aside to find her cell phone, which was buried beneath a few papers on the other side of her desk. Her son decided to go back to reading his comic book while she prepared to call Rick.

He had given her his number when they finished the 'Just Partners' program, under the premise that they set up a plan for the boys to do something together that didn't involve a comic book, but Michonne didn't think she'd ever had to use it because they only lived around the corner from each other.

He answered only after two or three rings, "Hello?"

Michonne was suddenly overcome with nerves, "Hey... It's Micho¬"

"Michonne?", He sounded surprised, "Are you alright?"

"Fine", She cleared her throat, "Yeah, fine… Sorry if this is a bad time, but An¬"

"It's not. I've been wondering how you were actually"

Michonne had never been gladder that her son was too engrossed in his comic, otherwise, he would have seen his mother was squirming around in her seat, "Um, yeah I'm fine, thanks… And you?"

"Yeah, I'm doing just fine too"

She tried not to hesitate, "Great… Um, I just wanted to ask if you were home? Well, if Carl was home because Andre wanted to show him this new book he got…"

"Well we're actually at Carl's grandparents right now, but how about you come by a little later? You can stay for dinner if you're not busy that is?"

Michonne stared at her computer screen, "...Dinner?"

"Yeah. If you let me know what Andre likes then I can whip somethan' up¬"

"You don't need to do that", She finally found her voice, "We can just reschedule or something"

"It's not a problem. Andre wants to see Carl, and it'll give Carl somethan' to look forward to since he's been bored all weekend…", She heard him smirk.

"...Um", Michonne could picture red flashing lights going off in her mind.

"And I'd like to see you again", He confessed in that rough voice of his, "That is if you don't mind seeing me again so soon"

Michonne felt her neck grow warm, "...That's very nice of you to say, Rick… Bu¬"

"That's the third time you've used my name now"

She froze, "Excuse me?"

"You never used my name before yesterday. You always called me Sergeant or Captain… You've started calling me Rick"

Her mouth opened and closed several times as she thought about it. She blew out a breath as she said, "Yeah… Maybe you're right"

"I like it... I mean, I like hearing you use it."

Michonne found It hard to believe that someone as forward as Rick could be so inadvertently adorable at times. She smiled involuntarily, "Oh. Okay"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt what you were about to say-"

"Oh, um, just that…", She was going to turn him down. That was what she had to do. While she may have made it clear to Oscar that she was done with their relationship, she was still in no position to entertain Ricks feelings or her own, but despite having those thoughts at the forefront of her mind, she still said, "We can stop by for a little while- I really don't want to put you out"

"You won't be. It'll be my pleasure."

Of course, Andre was happy with the idea of going to the Grimes household, but Michonne was a little more on edge.

She and Oscar had given each other a wide berth for most of the day. He hasn't said anything to her and she hadn't said anything to him. He didn't have a chance to say anything to Andre because he was glued to his mother's hip. Their home was divided even more so than it was before, and she didn't even bother to tell him that they were leaving that evening. She changed into a white blouse and white jeans and gave her feet a break from heels by opting to wear flip-flops instead. As soon as she was dressed she met Andre and an excited Max by the front door, then they left.

Michonne didn't even know what to say to her son when they were walking down the street. His behavior was an indicator that he was well aware of what was going on between his mother and step-father, and she didn't want him exposed to so much tension anymore. It was bad enough that he'd been around it for so long already.

After mulling over a few different ways to touch on the topic, she finally decided to just be honest with him, "...I'm sorry that you had to see that last night"

Andre kept his eyes on Max.

"...Andre?"

He turned his head ever so slightly.

"I said I'm sorry that you saw what happened last night. Oscar and I don't want you to see us argue like that"

Andre turned his head away as he responded bitterly, "...He's bad."

It may not have seemed like a harsh insult to anyone else, but coming from Andre, it meant something of great magnitude. Michonne was stumped for a reply, "...He did something bad¬ we both should have spoken to each other differently, so I'm sorry you had to see that"

Andre didn't say anything else, and Michonne wasn't sure if that was because he'd stopped listening or because he didn't agree with her. Knowing how stubborn he could be, she decided that it was both; He stopped listening because he didn't agree.

She gave him a little nudge as she declared quietly, "You don't protect me. I protect you."

He shook his head, causing his long dreads to swish around, "No."

Michonne's heart fluttered. She pulled him closer by his shoulder as she said, "Thank you"

When they got to Rick's well tended to home, Michonne rung the doorbell and Andre took Max's leash off. It was sweet to see her son so excited, and Michonne wished she could feel the same but there was too much on her mind. She was beginning to wonder if accepting Rick's invitation was a bad idea, especially at such a tender time, but when he appeared at the door with a smile on his face, suddenly everything didn't seem to bad.

He greeted them cheerfully and welcomed them into his home. Despite the fact that Michonne had insisted that he didn't cook, there was a delicious smell seeping into the hall from the kitchen, telling her that he didn't listen.

"Carl's probably just trying to clean up his room… It seems that he likes to do that at the very last minute", Rick glanced back at his staircase, "But you can go on up"

Andre had previously gone in search of Carl with no issue, but this time he looked towards his mother as he hovered beside her, and it didn't take long for Michonne to realize why; he was still in protective mode. She gave him a little nudge and said quietly, "Go on. I'll be down here. It's fine."

He followed her instructions, and as soon as he moved, Max bolted up the stairs before he did. Michonne figured that was because Carl had probably given her food before, so she was also excited to see him.

Rick waited until Andre was gone to ask, "...Is he alright?"

She nodded with a little too much enthusiasm, "Yeah. Fine¬ It's been a long day…Lot's of stimulation…"

He slowly nodded his head as if her reply didn't make sense, "Alright"

She swiftly changed the topic, "How's Carl doing?"

"He's fine, too. In fact, I should probably call him down to say hello¬"

"Oh, don't worry about it", She waved her hand dismissively at the idea, "Let him have his fun."

"Alright then", Rick raked his fingers through his hair, then motioned towards the living area, "Why don't you come and take a seat… I'll get you a drink"

Michonne tried to behave the way that she normally would but it wasn't easy under these circumstances. The last time that she visited his home, they sat on his front porch for the passing world to see, but now they were very much alone. If he could be so brazen to woo her with an audience, then she couldn't imagine what he was like behind closed doors.

"I hope that Andre enjoys a hearty home cooked meal", He asked casually as he watched her take a seat in the corner of his large, soft grey couch.

She arched one of her brows at him, "You didn't?"

He shrugged, "Maybe I did"

"But you didn't have to…"

"I don't want to brag but I make good home cooked meal…", He countered, causing her to laugh quietly. He grinned as he took a seat on the arm of a recliner, "I'm not just saying that by the way"

"I'm sure", She playfully rolled her eyes.

"So can I get you anything? Water? Lemonade?"

"...Anything stronger?"

He appeared amused, "...I don't wanna' make the same mistake as last time"

She tilted her head as she thought about the weekend she'd had so far, "I think I could probably go for your strongest"

Ricks brows shot up into his forehead as he slowly stood up, "Looks like I'll be driving you home again tonight"

"Hilarious", She chuckled.

"I'm just saying... ", He held up his hands innocently as he teased her, "If you start stumbling around here then I don't think it's wise that you walk home... You might end up at the wrong front door."

She shook her head and tried to rein in her smile. She didn't want to think about her home while she was there. She didn't want to think about anything that lead back to Oscar. She'd been carrying so much tension on her shoulders for a majority of the day and she didn't want to pick it back up again.

When Rick left her alone, she took the chance to really look at the things that he had in his home. She didn't get much of an opportunity to do so the first time around; he had plenty of pictures of Carl hung up and on the mantle. Several other pictures showed them together and with other people, then Michonne started to wonder if his wife was in any of them. She focused on the ones of Carl on his own and realized that he wasn't alone in them. There was a woman's shoulder in one, and a hand in the other. Michonne sat back with a slight frown, questioning if that was done purposely.

"...I have to warn you; This is the kind of stuff that my grandfather used to drink, and even he struggled with it", Rick walked back into the room with two tumblers in his hands.

"Bring it on", Michonne took the glass from him when he handed it to her, and she didn't even need to put her nose to the rim to smell the strong oaky aroma. He'd only put a small amount in the glass but it was enough for her to turn her head away for a second, "Wait a minute"

Rick laughed out loud as he took a seat on the couch too, "I told you"

"What is this?"

"It's a malt whiskey", He only had a little more than her in his own glass, "Maybe take a very small sip first, enough to wet the tip of your tongue"

She followed his advice and let a few drops of the dark brown beverage slip past her lips. Her chest almost caved, "Oh, wow"

"Yeah", He winced after taking a bigger sip, then set his glass down on the white coffee table, "You have to be careful with a drink like that"

"You can say that again…", Michonne was thrown through a range of emotions when she realized how close he was sat beside her. It may have been a large couch but it certainly wasn't so large that she would struggle to hear or see him if he sat on the opposite end.

He sat back and brought his calf up to the knee of his other leg as he got comfortable, "So I take it you've had a… busy day?"

"...Yeah", She peered down at the tumbler she held on her lap as she lied, "A lot of work to do… But it has to be done"

"...Yeah", She could tell that he was looking directly at her because his voice was so clear, "...Was everythan' alright when you got home last night?"

She could have choked on air, "Was everything alright?"

"I wanted to ask earlier", He explained, "After everythan' that happened¬"

"Fine", She spat the word out, "Fine…Just… got a lot of things to...discuss…"

Rick eyed her with that same suspicious look from earlier, "...I see."

"So what about you?", She had the change the direction of their conversation, "What have you and Carl been up to?"

He began to look away, "Uh, yeah. I just took Carl to spend some time with his grandparents… Trying to save myself from another visit like before"

"...Yeah", Michonne wasn't expecting him to make that last comment, "...Is Carl close with them?"

Rick narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of them, "He was. Before he was"

She felt safe to look at him; whenever they went anywhere near the topic of his wife or anything to do with his wife, it seemed as though he was no longer talking to her, but to himself. She nodded her head as she said, "I see… Well I hope he enjoyed himself"

Rick snapped back to the present as he said, "...He gets bored because they haven't realized that he's not a little boy anymore. They still got a bunch of his old toys there and they bring 'em out when he's there"

Michonne started to giggle, "Really?"

He smiled, "Really. They think he's still six, not almost sixteen."

"...Well in their defense, I've kept some of Andre's old toys too. He had this beautiful red car that he used to take everywhere with him¬ it's still in great condition. He moved on from it but I just couldn't throw it away"

"Does he know you still have it?"

"He does and he couldn't care less if he tried", Michonne brought the glass up to her lips and took the most pathetic sip of the strong beverage.

"...Does he see his father often?"

"As often as he can. He's always busy with work but he talks to him on the phone most days...And I think his father might consider moving closer because he's got another addition on the way"

Rick raised both his eyebrows, "Oh really? How'd Andre take that?"

Michonne inhaled deeply as she tried to think of the best way to describe her son's reaction, "...I don't want to say that he didn't care…"

A little chuckle came from Rick, "Alright…"

"He needs to actually see the baby to feel something", She explained with a smile, "And when he does, I think he'll even get a little protective, but until then it's just not having the kind of effect that you'd expect"

"I can imagine him being protective", Rick swiveled the ice cubes around in his glass, "And I hope you don't mind me saying that you're doing a great job with him. I can see that the two of you have somethan' really special going on."

Michonne appreciated his small declaration, "Thank you"

The more she spoke with him, the more she wanted to speak with him. She liked hearing his little tales as well as his thoughts and opinions, and they almost got so caught up in their conversation that they forgot all about dinner.

She called for the boys while Rick set out a small feast on the dining room table; he'd made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, greens, beans and buttermilk biscuits. Everything smelt just as good as it looked, and Michonne truly wished he hadn't gone through so much trouble because it really could be a hit or miss with her son.

But on the bright side, if he didn't eat any of it then she could help herself to his share.

When Andre and Carl finally came downstairs they all sat down and began to tuck in, like a recently blended family. Michonne liked what was happening between the boys and she also appreciated the lengths Rick went to when it came to accommodating Andre, but she still couldn't fool herself into thinking what she was doing was right.

She wasn't innocently enjoying a meal with her son's friend and his father, and she knew that. Her incident with Oscar may have been pushed to the back of her mind for the time being but she couldn't completely forget it if she tried.

"Carl and I haven't been on a hike in a while...:", Rick rested his forearms on the table as he spoke, "But we used to love going up by the quarry. It has a great view up there"

"Yeah", Carl set his glass of water down after taking a sip, "And over by the lake"

"The lake, too", Rick agreed.

Michonne slowly nodded her head, "Well I hope the two of you enjoy your next hike-"

"You and Andre should come with us", Rick ejected with a coy smile, knowing she wasn't trying to be invited along.

Carl caught on to what was happening and sniggered, "It's fun. It's nice up there."

Michonne couldn't turn down the teen as easily as she would his father, "It sounds like a nice idea… what do you think Andre?"

Her son stopped feeding Max dredged of food beneath the table and looked towards her.

"How'd you feel about going on a hike, Andre?", Rick asked, "Just nice long walk up-"

"A ninety-degree hill, in the sun. No shade.", Michonne finished his question for him and Carl laughed even more.

Andre narrowed his eyes, "You're exaggerating, mom"

"He caught you out", Rick snickered, "So I think that's three against one"

" _Traitor_ ", Michonne muttered as she side-eyed her son. He almost smiled but chose to go back to looking after Max instead. She sighed with defeat, "Fine. We can take a nice, healthy hike"

Rick raised his tumbler to indicate that he agreed, "We'll set a date"

Michonne had to look away from his stunning eyes or else her own glass would slip from her fingers, "Deal."

"My mom doesn't want to go hiking because she's afraid of black bears", Andre's harmless declaration was aimed to Carl, most likely because he wanted to join in the conversation, but he obviously forgot that the adults were in earshot.

Michonne's eyes shot towards her son, while Rick and Carl's both began to grin. The father spoke first, "Black bears, huh?"

"Alright, why don't we clear the table?", Michonne ignored him as she stood up with her plate in hand. Rick and Carl couldn't contain themselves any longer. She couldn't resist adding, "Stop. That's a very rational fear to have."

Rick slowly rose from his seat as he agreed with great sarcasm, "Yeah. Of course."

The teens helped to move the rest of the dishes to the kitchen but vanished as soon as it was time to wash anything, so against Ricks protests, Michonne rolled up her sleeves and got to work while he tidied up. She felt it was the least she could do after he probably spent a lot more effort in preparing their meal than he was willing to admit.

"I noticed that Andre didn't have a problem with dinner…", Rick said coolly as he walked into the kitchen with a rag, "...Which I took as a compliment"

Michonne sighed as she dried a plate with the dishcloth, "Another one to add to your list of happy diners?"

"Believe it or not but it's a long list", He joined her by the sink, "Though I didn't hear what you thought about it?"

Michonne purposely didn't look his way as she set the final plate on top of the others, "I enjoyed it…Though I still don't think you should have gone through so much trouble"

"Like I said; it was no trouble at all", He put the rag down placed his hands at his sides, "Can I get you another drink?"

"Um…", Michonne peaked at the clock on the wall, "I'm sure that you'd like some peace and quiet now…"

He tilted his head by an inch, "Is that what you think?"

Michonne reluctantly looked at him, and all of a sudden she wasn't sure what she thought. In fact, she'd stopped thinking altogether, especially when he stepped into her space and reached for something on the counter behind her. He gazed into her eyes, completely unfazed that they were less than a few inches apart, while Michonne internally crumbled. She was reminded of his kiss from the night before and her skin flushed.

He pulled back and held up the glass to her, "One more?"

Michonne discreetly released the breath she was holding and said in a quiet voice, "...Sure."

She reprimanded herself as soon as the word left her mouth. They'd been there long enough, and she couldn't see any good coming from being left alone with him again, but she still let him pour her a glass of wine and lead her back to the living area. She sat in the same spot that she occupied before dinner and so did he, but this time he turned his body to face her and kept one arm up on the back of the couch. His focus was clear.

"...I'm actually really glad that the two you could come over tonight", He revealed in a soft tone, "I hope we can do this again sometime"

Michonne didn't dare look up, but she still wore a polite smile on her face, "...I think Carl and Andre have enjoyed it"

"I think they did too", He agreed, "I actually saw somethan' earlier that I'm not sure if you noticed too..."

She peered at him from the corner of her eye, "What?"

"...Andre looked at him. At Carl.", Rick explained, "When they were having their own little conversation at the table"

Michonne's head jerked back, "Really?"

"Yeah. Only for a second or two but I definitely saw him do it", Rick began to smile, "I thought that was quite sweet"

Michonne had embarrassed herself and her son enough when it came to his friendship with Carl, but knowing that Andre had reached a stage where he felt comfortable enough to look directly at Carl was quite the milestone.

"I only say that because I don't think I've ever seen him look at anyone besides you…", Rick cut his sentence short when he noticed her dabbing her eye with a finger, "...You alright?"

"I'm fine", She chirped, keeping her gaze moving so she didn't tear up, "I'm sorry, you're right; it really is sweet"

"Go on, let it out", A light chuckle escaped Rick, "He's upstairs so you're safe"

Michonne sighed as she let her head fall to the back of the couch, "...I think it's finally hit me that he's capable of forming bonds with other people on his own, he even wanted to come over here on his own earlier and I just…"

"Wasn't ready to make that step on his own?", Rick finished for her.

"No. I wasn't… And I don't even know why because he was walking home from school on his own, even though he wasn't meant to be walking home from school on his own", Michonne grew annoyed when Oscar's careless behaviour crossed her mind, "At least now he has Carl so they can keep each other company… but I just¬"

"Sounds like you're having a tough time letting him do thangs on his own?", He arched his eyebrow to emphasize his point, "I'm sorry to break it to you but it sounds like you're a _parent_ "

Michonne's mouth fell agape for a second, but she soon started to laugh, "Alright. Guilty."

"He's never gonna' stop needing you… but sometimes we gotta' take a tiny step back and give them that chance to do thangs on their own. It won't be easy, especially with a young man like Andre but, and I hope you don't mind me saying this... I think he's more capable of doing thangs than you're ready to recognize"

She inhaled deeply as she reluctantly agreed with him, "He is. I know he is… He doesn't need me hovering over him"

"But, I will say that I think he likes knowing that you're there", He reasoned, "And I don't doubt for one second that you'll always be there"

He'd never uttered a truer statement. She happily agreed with that point, "Yeah. Always."

"So if it helps, he's more than welcome to come over here on his own? Even after school if he wants", Rick combed his fingers through his hair, "He can get Max and they can take her for a walk or somethan'..."

It was a kind offer, and Michonne wished she could do the same but she didn't want to expose Carl to the toxic atmosphere in her home. She still smiled, "She would love that"

"...I'd like to remind you that you're also more welcome to come over here, too", Rick unveiled his smoothest tone yet, "It's nice to be able to talk to you like this"

There was a pitiful amount of resolve that still remained in Michonne and she had to dig deep to find it. She'd need it if he planned on steering the conversation back to the topic of them, "Thanks...That's very nice of you Rick but this probably shouldn't become a regular occurrence, and I think you know that"

"I do", Rick didn't even blink, "But that's not enough to stop me from wanting this to become a regular occurrence"

"The fact that I'm married should be enough"

"You're right, it should", His eyes radiated that same amount of intensity that Michonne had caught a glimpse of the night before, "But it's not."

Michonne could have easily reiterated her point, but she always found herself speechless when it came to Rick's declarations. It dawned on her that she probably should have said something because her voice would have drowned out the sound of her cell phone vibrating in her purse.

They both heard it, but neither took their eyes off of each other.

"I wanted to say somethan' last night but I wasn't sure how to really put what it is that I feel into words...", He stated softly, "...Because you're like somethan' out of a dream to me, Michonne… And I think I'm too far gone to start looking back at what's right or wrong here"

So much blood had rushed to the surface of her skin that she was sure he could probably see that she was blushing, and unlike previous occasions, she just couldn't look away from him.

"...There hasn't been a day that's gone by where you haven't been on mind, and I like that. I like how you make me feel, and I'd like to do whatever I could to make you feel the same way", His gaze trailed all over her face, "...So can I ask what you're thinking, Michonne?"

It was the second time he'd asked her that question, and clearly, he was keen to know just how she felt in return but she just couldn't bring herself to say it, even if she a divorce was on the cards for her and Oscar. She lowered her gaze to his chest, "Rick..."

She lost her train of thought when he leaned closer, reached up and cupped her chin with his index finger. Alarm bells rang out in her mind, and she quickly searched for that last bit of resolve that she was sure she had.

His thumb stroked her chin as he said, "Yes?"

Michonne felt it again; her nerves buzzing with excitement. Her feelings for him no longer wished to be ignored, and she marveled at the electricity that flowed between them. She wanted to kiss him and must have indicated that when her sparkling gaze tumbled down to beard, because Rick stopped pressing for a reply, and pressed his lips against hers instead.

It was a soft little kiss, like the one he'd given her the night before, but this one wasn't as innocent. This one wasn't something she could write off as a 'friendly gesture'. This kiss had passion behind it, and it was the kind of kiss that Michonne had only ever read about in romance novels; it made her eyes roll shut and her core flutter, especially when he coaxed her to part her lips with his tongue. Her hand timidly felt for the base of his neck, and when he felt her touch he responded by placing his hand on her hip and pulling her closer.

She heard her phone vibrating again, and she was even less interested in answering it than when it rang the first time. It had been so long since she was overcome with such a need to be intimate with someone that she allowed herself to be swept away in Rick's affections until she felt a weight on her knee that made her pull away from him out of fear; It was Max.

The dog had snuck into the room and sat directly in front of her as she waited patiently for the adults to stop doing what they were doing. Rick combed his hair back with his fingers as he said a little breathlessly, "I didn't even hear her come in"

Michonne sat up and quickly adjusted her clothes, "...She's probably thirsty"

"...Oh", Rick said, "Well I'll get her some water"

"You don't have to, I can¬"

"It's alright", He insisted lightly as he wore a very content smile on his face, "...You did the dishes after all"

"Oh… yeah", Michonne agreed as she nervously chuckled, "Alright, fine"

Just when she thought he'd get up and leave her alone for a while so she could take the opportunity to gather her witts, he kissed her again; another long peck that made her swoon. He was virtually glowing when he whispered against her lips, "I'll be right back"

"... _O_ - _okay_ ", Her pitch was so high that even Max jerked away in fright. Rick stood up and called the dog to follow him, which she easily did, and Michonne waited until the coast was clear before she buried her face in her hands and muttered to herself, "Shit."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** I am not going to bore you guys with some long-winded note about why it took me months to update again - I have had too much shit to deal with, so I haven't been able to keep up with the writing. Things have finally calmed over here so I was able to get some updates going. **I am so sorry** that it took this long and I am so sorry that I didn't say anything sooner. I hope you enjoy the updates, but if not then feel free to drag me because I deserve it. **Love** you all!

\- Bae

Chapter Eleven:

"...Sorry to have to call you guys over here but, uh… I wasn't sure how to go about this, so I'm hoping that one of you could come up with somethin'..."

Ricks' hands fell from his trim waistline when he walked into the living and kitchen area of a suspect's home. Theodore walked right into him from behind because he was so distracted by the sight in front of them.

"...He's already confessed to everythin'¬ He's actually been a joy to arrest...", Leon continued in a low, dry tone, "And obviously the next step would be to get him down to the department, but as you gentlemen can see... We haven't got a damn clue how to do that, or if we _can_ do that"

Deep frown lines appeared in Rick's forehead; even he couldn't come up with a solution on the spot. On the other side of the room, sat on a bed between two other officers was a very large man. So large that he covered most of the mattress beneath him. His clothing wasn't enough to cover his dark, stretched skin so his stomach hung exposed between his outstretched legs. Rick felt uncomfortable just looking at him, so he couldn't imagine what the man felt living with at such a size.

"...God, _damn",_ Theodore breathed as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, "We won't even be able to get him in the back of the car"

" _We_ won't be able to get him anywhere", Leon corrected under his breath, " _He_ can't even get himself anywhere, that's why he's been selling the stuff from the window. People around here call this house the 'drive-thru'..."

Rick began doing some simple calculations in his head but none of them equated to a possible answer. He looked at the man, then back at the narrow front door while he said, "...Somethan' tells me he hasn't been able to leave this house in a very long time"

"Man, we are gonna' need the fire department", Theodore concluded with a huff, "They probably have the equipment to handle with this sort of thing"

"He's right", Rick agreed, then pointed his gaze at Leon, "Give them a call. I'm gonna' talk to him."

As it was nearing the end of his workday, Rick was hoping that he'd just have to complete some paperwork before he was free to go home but he should have known he wouldn't be so lucky. The mornings' events had seen him strain himself in ways that he didn't think he was capable, so his body was sore and his mind was tired, but he'd summon the strength from somewhere to do his job the right way.

He tried his best not to gawk at the suspect as he approached his weakened bed, "Good afternoon, Mr…"

"Anderson", The man croaked as his eyes followed Rick, "But call me, J.R"

"J.R, my name is Captain Grimes and I was called over here to see if we could help get you down to the department but…", Rick placed himself at the side of the bad and set his hands at his sides again, "I think we might have a little difficulty doing that"

"...Yeah", J.R simply snuggled back against the mini-mountain of pillows that supported his upper body, "Well, do whatcha' gotta' do…I might not be much help, though"

"That's alright", A handheld games console was perched on the edge of the bedside table and Rick waved his hand towards it, "I haven't seen one of those in a long time. My son used to have one"

"That was my nephews", J.R explained, "He left it over here a long time ago and I haven't put it down since. It's addictive."

"That's the same thang my boy says. He's graduated on to much bigger screens now"

J.R chuckled lightly, "Same as my nephew"

Rick's gaze landed on the mans meaty, and apparently swollen leg, and he found himself asking, "...How long have you been in this bed?"

"Oh boy", J.R scoffed, "Three years? Might even be four. It's been a while."

The muscles in Rick's face twitched, "You haven't walked since?"

"Nah, I can't. I messed up this leg when I was getting in the shower one day", The man slapped his hand down on his right thigh, "It hurt too much to walk on it again… So I got stuck here"

Rick slowly nodded his head as his eyes trailed up and down his mass, "...And who else lives here with you?"

"My dad and my cousin¬ He's at work but she just went out to the store to get me a few things", J.R rushed to add, "But they ain't involved in all this… My dad doesn't know nothin' about it"

A familiar smell hit the air when J.R adjusted his position, causing Rick to turn his head away for a split second; he'd always be able to recognize the smell of rotting flesh, and the fact that it was coming from a living person was worrying. He stopped breathing through his nose as he said, "When was the last time that you saw a doctor?"

J.R ran his huge hand over his glistening face, "I don't know, Sir… It's been a while"

"...And how exactly have you been getting your hands on all that medicinal marijuana?", Rick frowned.

J.R appeared shameful as he confessed, "...I just started selling for the guy who I used to buy from"

"You know how many people are in on this?"

"No, sir. Just me over here."

Rick scanned his eyes around the room; it was clean enough but hardly decorated. Furniture was mismatched and there didn't seem to be anything of any monetary value. He asked, "...Where's the money going?"

"Well, you think I got to this size for free?", J.R's stomach shook as he laughed warmly, "...But, uh, I do give my dad some money when I can to help out with the bills, and I always give my cousin a little somethan' for helping me. She cleans me up when she can and goes to the store for me¬ cooks…"

Rick nodded his head, "Got it"

"...To be honest with you, I only started doing this to help out", J.R admitted with a shrug, "Thangs got real tough after my mom died¬ I couldn't get a job like this and my dad was always talking about 'he can't afford to feed me and keep a roof over all our heads' and I felt bad about it...So sellin' seemed like the only thing I could do while I was like this"

"I understand", Rick was listening to the man but he still couldn't believe what he was seeing. It fascinated him and horrified him at the same time, but it saddened him more than anything. He could see by the man's face that he was barely into his thirties but had spent the good part of it stuck in bed, eating himself to death. Rick asked the man quietly, "...Can I ask why you didn't seek help sooner?"

J.R fell silent for a moment, his big brown eyes roaming the room. It was clear that it wasn't easy for him to reply, "...I did. I tried a few things but... Nothing ever worked for me, so I just gave up"

"Do you have any idea how much you might weigh?"

J.R shook his head adamantly, "...Last time I stood on a scale I was under three hundred pounds. That was a long time ago."

The hopeless look on J.R's face was enough to tell Rick all that he needed to know; a solution finally came to him; "Alright, I'll tell you what's gonna' happen"

J.R threw his gaze back over to Rick.

"I'm willing to strike up a deal with you; We can hold off on everythan' while we get you to the hospital for a check-up because I think it's long overdue.", Rick used his most serious tone, "But this is what you're going to do in return; you're gonna' cooperate by giving us the details of your supplier, as well as anyone else who you think, might be involved... and you're gonna' start taking care of yourself"

The suspect stared at him with a blank expression.

"Now you will have to face the consequences for what you've done at some point in time, but there isn't any point in taking you in when we don't have the facilities to accommodate you, and I'm afraid that you might not be well enough to survive that", He was careful with his choice of words but still wished to convey the gravity of J.R's situation, "So as soon as you get to that hospital, you're gonna' do whatever the doctors tell you to do to get yourself out of this… And I'll be checking in on you to make sure that you are"

J.R looked away from him in astonishment. He used a rag he had wrestling on his stomach to wipe the beads of sweat from his brow, "...I don't know, man¬"

"You said you tried to get help before, right? Well, this time I'm gonna' make sure that you do", Rick issued firmly.

"We'll both make sure", Theodore piped up from the middle of the room with his muscular arms across his chest, "So if he ain't the one breathing down your neck, then it's gonna' be me. And trust me, you do _not_ want it to be me."

Rick could have smirked, but instead, he kept his attention on J.R, "So, do we have a deal?"

J.R ran his rag over his entire head as he huffed and puffed, trying to come to a decision quickly, "...Y-yeah. Alright. Alright¬ Fine"

Rick slapped his hand on the man's shoulder as he said, "Alright"

Getting J.R from his bed and into an ambulance turned out to be a task that none of them were prepared for. The fire department arrived just before the paramedics did, and it turned out that the foul smell coming from the heavy man was coming from between an open wound on the back of his leg between the folds of his flesh. Moving caused J.R great pain so the team of eight men would have to occasionally pause as they carried him through the home. Rick and Theodore remained with Leon until he finally made it onto the ambulance floor, too large to fit on a standard stretcher.

J.R's plight haunted Rick on the way home that evening, but that was an aspect of his job that he was very used to. It was impossible to leave some of the cases they faced at the department door; whether it be in a positive way or a negative way, it affected him. However, Rick considered himself Lucky to have a friend and partner like Theodore at his side because they often shared those experiences, and Theodore knew just how to make light of such serious topics.

"...Sasha would be all over my ass if I even got to a third of that mans size"

Rick snorted as a wide smile spread across his face, "I have no problem believing that"

"I might just have to send her to his hospital room", Theodore joked as he peered out the windscreen of his jeep, "He'd be too scared to eat anything else with her there. She'd smack anythin' that ain't a vegetable right out of his hand"

"That just might have to be our plan of action if all else fails", Rick let his head fall against the headrest as he sighed, "How's she doing anyway? I know she probably had to carry you home after the Ball"

"Man", Theodore's tone turned dark, "I need to tell you something…"

Ricks' spine turned to stone, afraid that he had reminded Theodore of something incriminating he had done at the Policeman's Ball over the weekend. He replied, "What is it?"

"You know I'm not really into that online stuff, but Sasha uses it to keep in touch with her family and her Atlanta friends and stuff like that, and over the weekend she must have put up a picture of us before the ball…", Theodore began to frown, "So she showed me on Sunday what her sister said in the comments and I see something from some guy named Bob, calling her beautiful!"

Rick was relieved that his friend wasn't going to question him about his behavior at the Ball, but he was now forced to understand the issue he was having, "...Bob? Who's Bob?"

"She said he's a new teacher down at the school"

Rick did what Theodore was refusing to and tapped into his more logical side, "While, Sasha is beautiful and she did look great that night¬"

" _You_ can say that", Theodore deadpanned as he gripped the steering wheel with one hand, "Of course she's beautiful and she always looks great, but who the hell is Bob?"

Rick was tickled by his irrational chain of thought, "He was paying your wife a compliment. I think it's as simple as that."

Theodore shot him an unimpressed glance, something that verged on being a snarl.

"Don't look at me like that", Rick tried to hide his amusement, "Maybe he could have said somethan' else... but don't look into it too much. You know how people are on those thangs¬ Don't get all worked up about it. Look how many disputes we've had to deal with because of somethan' someone saw online? Just for it to turn out to be some kind of misunderstanding… It's getting ridiculous"

"Yeah…", Theodore shrugged as he turned his jeep onto Rick's street, "But still…"

Rick tiredly ran both of his hands over his face as he muttered, "And might I just add that I was expecting to have this kind of conversation with Carl before I had it with you¬"

"Hold on a minute...Is that who I think it is?", Theodore declared as he narrowed his eyes, peering through the passengers' side of the windscreen. Rick sat up in his seat and looked around lazily until he saw who it was letting themselves through his front gate.

Michonne was moving in real time like everything else, but Rick's infatuation with her skewed his perception; her long black locks sailed through the air when she spun around to close the white picket gate behind her. She must have made her way to his home as soon as she finished work because she was wearing a white blouse and beige leather skirt that stopped below her knees. She also wore a little frown on her face until she happened to look in the direction of Theodore's jeep.

"She's probably going to get her son", Rick unfastened his seat belt in record speed, "He and Carl have been hanging out a lot"

"Oh", Theodore slowly nodded his head as he pulled his Jeep to a rolling stop, "You didn't say they were close like that?"

"They've been like two peas in a pod for a little while now", Rick made his way out the vehicle and said through the open window, "I'll see you tomorrow"

"Alright, man", Theodore continued to look past him with his brows furrowed in confusion, "Tomorrow."

Unfortunately for Rick, he had no chance to check over his appearance before he sailed up to Michonne in his front yard. He held his uniform jacket in his hand and used his fingers to comb his hair back to minimize his scruffy look, and said to her cooly, "Hey"

"...Hey", Her lips formed a faint smile but there was tension written all over her; she crossed her arms over her chest and didn't let their eyes meet, "Andre only let me know thirty minutes ago that he came over here after school¬"

"Yeah?", Rick peered at his home for any signs of life, "That's alright. He's more than welcome to"

Michonne sighed as she let her eyes roam the space between them, "But he should have said something earlier first"

Rick was having a hard time understanding the vibe he was getting from her so he tried to soften the air the best way he knew how, "Of course he should have, but where's the fun in that?"

She let him know that his little joke had some effect by flashing a more genuine smile at his lawn as she peered around aimlessly, "Yeah..."

His eyes fixed on her like she was his source for life. Meer days had passed since she was last in his home and yet, he was elated to see her again. He lowered his voice as he asked, "Are you alright?"

She finally looked at him with wide, surprised eyes, "Yeah, fine¬ I'm fine. Sorry, I'm just… tired. It's been a long day."

"Yeah", He slipped his free hand in his pants pocket as he tried to hold her gaze for more than a few seconds, "It has"

Michonne hadn't done anything that required her to preen herself, but she still did. She flicked a few of her dreads over her shoulder and smoothed away a few imaginary wrinkles on her blouse. She was nervous, but tried to hide it by turning the focus back to their sons, "We should probably…"

He obliged for the moment, "Yeah, come on in"

Her behavior towards him shouldn't have come as a surprise; A nagging voice at the back of his mind had told him that she might try to put some distance between them after he'd brazenly seduced her into cheating on her husband with him. There was no doubt in his mind that she was left feeling conflicted after their weekend together. In spite of everything Rick had heard or witnessed in regards to her marriage, she was still very much married, and it seemed that Michonne did her best to take that seriously, but there was no denying that he caused a stir within her. He could see it in her eyes whenever she allowed herself to look at him for more than a microsecond. Her feelings may not have been as strong as his but he was certain that she felt something too, and he believed that their situation wasn't as black and white as it seemed.

He wasn't trying to ignite some sort of fleeting affair with her, nor was he only interested in the chase; if he could indeed win her over, then he was playing for keeps.

They strolled up the garden path in silence. He led the way and she wasn't far behind him until they reached his front door, where he allowed her to step into the house first so he could make his move; He knew she would stop short of the stairway and hover there because she still considered herself as nothing more than a guest.

"Do you mind If I¬", She had started to ask something before he caught her by her hand and invited her into his personal space with a gentle tug.

Rick acted swiftly, knowing that Carl and Andre could appear at any moment, he dipped his head and captured her lips with his own. Her hand immediately found his chest as though she was going to push him away, but instead, she sighed into his mouth, and it sent Rick wild.

He didn't think his attraction to her could intensify anymore, but that was before he had been intimate with her. Once he found out how just how heavenly it felt to kiss her, he didn't want to stop. He lapped at her lips with his tongue like she was coated in sugar, loving the way she tasted and aching to have even more of her in his mouth. He would have wrapped himself around her when her hands started to creep up his chest, but he felt a little pressure on his boot that was a little too foreign to ignore; Max had snuck up on them and used one of her weighty paws to step on his foot. The canine didn't even look up at either of them when she felt them separate; she just stared ahead of her, as if her only intention was to make herself known.

Rick smirked and said, "That's the second time she's interrupted us"

"Yeah...", Michonne breathed as she slipped her hand from his chest, "...She's good at that"

Rick looked at her with loved-up eyes and rubbed his thumb against her silky blouse where his hand rested on her waist. He said to her a throaty whisper, "Stay a little while"

"Uh…", Michonne huffed, her gaze darting all over his face as she tilted her head back to see him properly, "...Stay?"

"Yeah", He insisted gently, "Just a little while?"

Her lovely brown eyes revealed her hesitation. She agreed but with a condition, " _Just_ a few minutes"

Rick bit his tingling bottom lip out of frustration. A set of footsteps were crossing the landing so he reluctantly released her and backed away to a friendly distance, just before his son crouched down at the top of the staircase to see them.

Carl's hair fell from his face when he looked at them from an angel, "Hey¬ I thought I heard you come in"

"How you doin' son?", Rick hung his uniform jacket over the stair rail as he replied to him.

"Good", Carl looked over to Michonne a little nervously, "Sorry we forgot to call"

"Issa'okay!", Michonne cleared her throat when her tone sounded unusually high and stepped closer to the staircase, "It's alright, don't worry about it¬ But um, can you call Andre down for me, please?"

"Yeah, sure", Carl stood up, "Andre! Your mom's here!"

"What have you boys been doing all afternoon?", Rick asked curiously as he set his hands at his side, "Hope you haven't been in front of that screen of yours"

"We were actually trying teaching Max a few tricks", Carl said proudly as he began descending the stairs, "I mean… We tried to teach her a few tricks but¬"

"It doesn't work", Michonne finished for him, "She's not that kind of dog"

Carl sniggered in agreement as he peered down at Max, "Yeah, she just walked away from us a couple of times, or did that thing were she plays dead"

The second set of heavy footsteps made their way across the landing, and soon enough Andre made an appearance at the top of the staircase. The teen must have thought he was in some sort of trouble with his mother because his eyes found his mother's face as he was in full view of her.

Rick sent a warm smile his way, "How are you doing, Andre?"

"I'm okay", Andre's eye's quickly flickered towards Ricks boots, but settled back on his mother as he placed himself right in front of her, "Sorry."

Rick caught his son's attention, "Why don't you come and help me get Andre's mother a drink?"

Michonne almost gave herself whiplash when she turned to see Rick, "Um¬"

He gave her a knowing look, "I meant a lemonade or somethan'..."

Carl led the way to the kitchen and Rick loosened his tie enough for him to lift it off his head. He figured that Michonne would appreciate the privacy while she possibly scolded her son for not calling her before he made plans with Carl for the afternoon.

He could remember what she told him about her inability to accept that he's getting older and subsequently more independent, and Rick found it rather sweet. He understood her reasons since Andre did view the world differently than others and that had obviously made him a target for bullies in the past, but he could also see in some ways that Andre was no different to any other teenager.

"So all the two of you did is try to teach the dog tricks, then watch movies and eat junk all afternoon?", Rick summarized dryly, "...I think I might need to tell you about a man I met today¬"

"What's for dinner?", Carl immediately asked as he opened the refrigerator, "Can we order out?"

Rick side-eyed his son as he made his way towards the cabinet, "Maybe if you stuck around while I was in here then you'd be able to cook dinner one of these days"

He heard his son groan, "I can't cook. You know that. You remember the burritos we made?"

"Of course I remember", Rick rolled his eyes at the memory while he retrieved a tall glass, "I don't know what happened with that"

"Oh, wait, I think I still got that coupon from that pizza place", Carl piped up rather excitedly and spun around with a half-full pitcher in his hand, "It's half off?"

Rick didn't even have the energy to cook so he surrendered to his son's suggestion rather easily, "Alright. Fine"

"Yes!", Carl grinned, "Can we finish this game? I wanna' show Andre something¬ It'll only take like, five minutes?"

Rick knew that his son didn't mean five actual minutes because time, in Carls world, was ambiguous, but due to the circumstances, he was willing to look past that. He held out the glass for his son to fill, "Sure, but take this to his mother first."

"...She's not mad, is she?", The teen asked quietly as he looked to his father for reassurance, "I know she said not to worry about it but¬"

"No, I don't think she's mad at all; Andre should have just called her sooner rather than later", Rick insisted in an equally quiet tone, "There's nothing wrong with the two of you hanging out over here, if anythan' I probably prefer it, but just let one of us know first. I have a feeling that she'd bring this whole town to a standstill if she didn't know where he was"

Even though it was a joke intended to make his son laugh, Rick still believed it.

Carl left the kitchen first while Rick lagged behind so could loosen his tie enough to pull it over his head. Michonne and Andre had stepped into the living area when they found them again and Carl graciously offered her the glass while simultaneously asking her the same question he'd only just proposed to Rick, "Is it okay if we quickly finish this game?"

"Andre was just telling me about the _'zombie'_ game you were playing", Michonne tilted her head to one side, "He said something about heads exploding?"

Carl smiled a little nervously, "That's the one"

She huffed at both of them, "What's wrong with those adventure games? The ones where you go on a nice little quest in the forest, and you collect coins… Fight a goblin with some spells or something¬"

Rick tried to catch a chuckle before it burst from his lips but he failed. He lowered his head shamefully as he laughed, "I'm sorry"

"What?", Michonne noticed that he wasn't the only one finding her suggestion humorous; Carl was giggling too, and even Andre smiled at her. She frowned at all of them, "What's wrong with a good, _wholesome_ game?"

"Nothan' at all, but I'm afraid that you might not find that in Carl's collection", Rick gave his son a pat on the shoulder as he said to him, "Go on, you boys can finish your game, but don't take too long"

In all honesty, Rick wouldn't have cared if they played video games for an extra hour, but he had to make it seem like he was adhering to Michonne's earlier conditions. He waited until he heard their sons stomping back up the staircase before he insisted she took a seat on the couch. She did, hiding behind her glass as she glided past him. The tips of his fingers itched to touch her again but he vowed to behave himself for the time being.

"...So, how was your day?", Her voice was like velvet, "Did you cross paths with anymore gun wielding senior citizens?"

He smirked as he sat beside her, "None today, but it _is_ only Wednesday, so..."

"So there's still a chance ", Her legs were locked together, one leg crossed over the other then again at her ankles, "Do you and Theodore usually carpool?"

"Usually. He doesn't live far from here so it just makes sense", He explained, "But he's also a very good friend of mine so we're around each other a lot anyway"

"I've heard some good things about him", She leaned forward and set her glass down on the coffee table, "So that doesn't surprise me"

Rick checked behind him to make sure the coast was clear; it wasn't. Max was making her way over to them with a lazy stroll. He took Michonnes hand in between his when he was sure he was safe to do so, "...I've wanted to call you but I wasn't sure how you'd feel about that"

Michonne watched as his fingers began to tenderly caress her skin, "...Call me?"

"I wanted to see how you were after everythan' that happened…", He confessed softly, "I guess I wanted to know what you were thinking…"

Her eyes displayed some mild shock, with a hint of fear, "What I was thinking?"

"Yeah", He confirmed, "You never really got around to telling me what's on your mind?"

A wall of silence passed between them before she finally made an indication that she'd answer; she sighed and started to look down at their hands again, "I don't think we should go there"

"Can I ask why that is?", The question escaped Rick before he could think better of it, and in turn, Michonne gave him a very incredulous look. In his defense, her husband very rarely crossed his mind so he didn't immediately think that Oscar would be the reason she didn't want to divulge her thoughts. Rick wanted to change that, "I hope you know that I've meant everythan' that I've said to you"

"...I know", She allowed herself to maintain eye contact with him, "I...just…"

He could see that she was struggling to confide in him as freely as he could with her, so he asked her faintly, "Does this feel right to you?"

Little wrinkles appeared above her brows. A seemingly simple question had rendered her so speechless that her lips parted and closed several times, and it made Rick nervous. If she told him that everything that happened between them didn't feel right to her, then he'd have to respect that, but it would crush him. He was taken with her and he wanted nothing more than to be the man she was taken with, too.

When she did finally answer him, it was with a slight nod of her head, as though her body was responding before her brain could. Rick was so beside himself with happiness that he rushed to kiss her again; she confirmed her feelings when she kissed him back with no hesitation. She even placed her hands on either side of his neck. Even at that moment he still paid close attention to her behavior towards him because it let him know how comfortable she was with what was happening, and it relieved him further to feel her touch on his bare skin.

When took a chance and whispered against her lips, "Can you stay a little longer than just a few minutes?"

He felt her shake her head, "We can't"

"...We're getting pizza for dinner?"

Michonne giggled, "Is that supposed to change my mind?"

"Will it?", Rick grinned back at her.

"It would... If you were trying to bribe my son", She tipped her head to one side as she said, "Not so much with me"

"...I hope you don't mind me saying that it's alright with me if he comes over here after school", Rick sat back a little so he could look at her properly, "The two of them can hang out and keep each other company… But I do agree that he should let you know first so you don't have to come running around the block to find him"

Michonne's eyes narrowed, "I did _not_ run"

"...You probably walked pretty fast though", Rick loved to see her purse her lips; it meant she was trying not to smile or laugh. He teased her further, "I'm surprised that I didn't see you hop the fence when we pulled up¬"

" _Hilarious_ ", She playfully rolled her eyes when she was unable to hide her amusement.

"I'm just saying that this would be a good place for him to start exercising that independence", He insisted, "You wouldn't have to worry about him when he's over here"

"I know", Her gaze flickered around his face, "I'm not worried about him being over here, I just don't want to impose him on you"

Rick nearly scoffed, "It's not like that at all. I'm glad to have him over here because it means that Carl's probably tidied his room. And... In spite of what you said about him being a little picky with his food; he seems to enjoy what I cook just fine, so he's not a problem"

She smirked at him, "You just had to throw that in there, didn't you?"

"I did", He pulled her closer to him, "So... Are you sure you can't say a while?"

"I'm certain", She sighed and her breath tickled his lips, "I have some work to catch up on tonight"

"Alright...", He tried not to pout, "...How about I stop by your office tomorrow instead?"

"My office?", She raised her eyebrow at him.

"For lunch? We can go and get somethan' to eat again... You can bring your work with you. I'll even carry your desk."

His humor tickled her so much that she didn't even try to hide her laughter, and treated him to the most delightful chuckle, "You are all about the bribes today"

The sweet, floral perfume she wore lured him closer until he felt the tip of her nose against his, "Is it obvious yet that I'm willing to do anythan' to spend some time with you?"

Michonne gave a glimpse of that bashful smile that he loved as she whispered, "...A little"

Rick could have sworn that his feet hadn't touched the ground from the moment he saw her. He was positively glowing and it pleased him to know that his feelings weren't unrequited. As he expected, Michonne was moving a lot more cautiously than he was and she wasn't ready to bare it all to him, but she let him know in her own way that she did feel something. She let him know, in her own way, that there was something happening between them that was worth exploring.

He considered Michonne to be much better than himself in many ways and in spite of the problems she faced in her marriage, she wasn't going to fall into his arms easily. She had integrity, a clear sense of morality and wasn't the type of person to be swayed with ease. If he was going to continue to coax her away from her husband then he'd have to offer her more than just a few bribes here and there; he had to show her why he believed they would make a better match than her current pairing.

Being a woman of her word, she didn't allow him to get too carried away that afternoon; They shared a few more giggles and a few more kisses before she put an end to his dream. Luckily, his son was in the mood to be around him when they were on their own so they set themselves up in front of the television for the rest of the night with a large pizza between them. Rick's romantic life wasn't the only area where he was thriving.

Carl would speak to him because he wanted to and not because he had to, and Rick was overjoyed with that development. It may have made Carl feel better to go and talk to his mother's grave about his problems, but it used to pain Rick to know that his son would rather speak to his deceased mother than him. Carl may not have been spilling all his thoughts and feelings to him, but that deafening silence was no longer a third party when the two of them were together, and Rick wanted to keep it that way.

"...They spray painted 'em… Covered 'em in shaving cream and some kind of string. It looks pretty random to me, but obviously... you're the officers so I'm sure you know better than I do…", The groundskeeper explained in a regretful tone, "It's all just a big mess"

Rick heard every word the older man said but couldn't bring himself to face him. He couldn't bring himself to face anyone; he stared past the cemetery gates into the horizon with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

It was the next day and he was back to work before he knew it, but the first quest that led him out of the office wasn't one that he was prepared for.

"Some awful thangs were written on a few of the headstones, too", The small, grey-haired man motioned towards the gates, "Let me show you which ones"

"...You know you can head back to the department, right?", Theodore issued quietly as he stood at Rick's side, "We got this"

Rick didn't doubt the other officer's capability to handle the situation, but he did doubt his own. His hands become clammy the moment he approached the gates and his mind was drowning in anxious thoughts. He was able to respond to Theodore, "...I can do this"

"Yeah, but you don't have to do this right now", He countered easily, "Not like this, anyway…"

Rick could agree with that. If he were to face Lori's grave ever again, then he'd rather it wasn't soiled by someones grossly inconsiderate idea of a prank.

"You head back, I'll go in there and check her out", Theodore continued, "I'll let you know what the damage is if there is any"

It was the best solution for the time being. The tightness in Rick's check was beginning to choke him, and he wasn't even anywhere near Lori's remains yet. The stress would have brought him to his knees if he went any further. He finally tore his dry gaze away from the cemetery and found Theodore's understanding eyes; he breathed a weak, "Thank you."

And just like that, he came crashing back down to his reality. He had convinced himself that he'd come such a long way; Twenty four hours hadn't even passed since he was curled up on his couch with Michonne, then later bonding with his son over their hate of most popular tv shows. He believed he was in a good place and shared nothing with the man he used to be.

Lori's death used to follow him around like a blinding white light, making it difficult for him to see anyone but her, but that light wasn't so bright anymore. Rick could see his son and connect with him more with each passing day. He'd been allowing himself to distinguish other people and breathe new life into his home, but if Lori's grave had been vandalized then that it set both him and his son back.

Carl would most certainly blame himself. He hadn't visited her for almost a week, and If he knew that something had happened to Lori's grave in his absence then the guilt would eat him up inside, and Rick wasn't prepared to let that happen. The only way he could prevent that was by facing up to his own demons, sooner, rather than later.

It was just after noon when Rick arrived back in town, so the streets were getting crowded with hungry workers. His plan was to go straight to the police department and complete some paperwork to distract him from his own thoughts, but all that changed when it dawned on him that he was coming up to District attorneys building.

He had made his plans with Michonne when he was in bright spirits. He was no longer sure if that was a good idea, but he wasn't going to call and cancel; he'd rather break the news to her face to face.

A few people were scattered around the buildings entrance, some entering and some exiting, and Rick was not far from the tall, mahogany doors when he saw that an older, grey-haired man in an equally grey suit was knocked in the shoulder as he tried to leave, and the disgruntled man that barged him only happened to be Oscar.

Rick's immediately clenched his jaw, while a thunderous look spread across Oscar's already hardened face.

The last time the two men had come face to face was the night of the Policeman's ball. It was on that night that Oscar decided to leave his wife with no means to get home, during a very important occasion to her, Rick came away with a completely different view of him. He already knew that Oscar was careless, but he learned that he was also cold and unnecessarily standoffish. After witnessing him make a swift exit without any regard for Michonne, Rick decided that he would continue to have no regard for Oscar, which was why he stayed put when Oscar returned to their home that night.

Michonne didn't stick around when she saw her husband pull up to their driveway; She said goodnight to Rick then marched up the garden path, and Rick watched her until she reached the front door, then turned his attention to Oscar.

It was clear that he wasn't pleased to see Rick because he looked him from head to toe several times as he crossed the lawn, wearing that same miserable frown on his face. Even though there were no words exchanged between them, the lines were drawn and their point of conflict was evident.

This time would be no different.

Rick stared him down, and unlike Oscar, he didn't alter his pace at all. He kept walking towards the door with a slow and smooth gait, just to show just how unphased he was by the other man. He still felt Oscar's fiery glare on his back when he finally made it to the doors, which only made him smirk to himself; If Oscar thought that his hostile display would be enough to deter Rick from going to see his wife then he was wrong.

When he reached Michonne's floor, he saw that Carol wasn't at her desk in front of her office and the door was ajar; he heard movement, so he knocked on it twice as he slowly pushed it open.

"Rick?", Michonne hopped up from her crouched position on the floor when she saw him; she was in the middle of her office, wearing a cream blouse and matching pencil skirt. She looked her usual glamorous self at first glance until Rick noticed torn pieces of paper in her hand and at her feet. She scrunched them up in a hurry, "What are you doing here?"

He closed the door behind him as he said, "I did say that I'd stop by…"

Her eyes darted to the door with alert, then back to him, "...Did you just get here¬"

"I saw him leaving", Rick slowly walked towards her, "We passed each other on my way in"

She dropped her gaze to the paper in her hand and sighed deeply as she muttered, "Great."

Rick would usually take a moment to admire her with his eyes whenever he was in her company, but this time was different. She was rattled, and he could tell. He stopped in front of her, "What's wrong?"

She looked elsewhere as she tried to explain away her troubles, "Nothing¬ just… we still have a lot of things to discuss. That's all."

He reached out and placed his hands on her waist, believing that he could, but she tensed in an instant, which led him to ask, "Did somethan' happen?"

"No", She shook her head as she began to frown, her torso still as stiff as a board, "Nothing."

Rick didn't believe that, and he was sure she knew that she wasn't very convincing. He arched one of his eyebrows and tried to gently pry, "Can I ask what that is in your hand?"

She shook her head again and crushed the paper ball to a pulp, "No."

He should have known she'd bluntly decline his question, "...Does he suspect somethan'?"

There was a rather large delay in her reply. She looked torn between shooting down his question and confessing everything. She still didn't look at him as she replied quietly, "Yes"

Before crossing paths with her husband, Rick was sure that if he was given the chance then he wouldn't hesitate to tell the other man that he every intention of starting a relationship with Michonne, but he now carried a feeling that Oscar had the potential to be an even bigger obstacle than he originally thought.

"I just need to figure some things out", She sighed a second time as she tucked one of her locks back into her messy bun.

"Hey", He said tenderly, tilting his head to catch her gaze, "I know you don't wanna' talk about this with me but¬"

"If you know that then you'll stop asking me questions. Please, just let me clear this up", She said in a dismissive tone.

Rick's hand fell through the air when she stepped out of his reach and dumped the papers she was holding in the waste bin by her desk. He chose his next words carefully, "You can understand why I have questions though, right?"

Michonne still refused to look at him as she continued to move around, "It's none of your concern"

Rick caught her by her hand before she could crouch down to pick up the remaining pieces of the private document, forcing her to finally make eye contact with him. He inched closer, "Can you talk to me, please?"

She was too stubborn to give him her full attention just yet, but after about of silence her shoulders slumped, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have anythan' to apologize for", He moved even closer to assure her, "But I'd appreciate it if you let me know what's going on here?"

She immediately shook her head, "It's nothing. _Really_. Don't worry about it, please?"

It was an impossible ask from her. He was worried and he dreaded to think what happened in her office before he arrived, but it was crystal clear that she didn't wish to speak about it with him and he didn't want to have to push her information from her, either. If she was going to share something with him, then he wanted it to be because she wanted to.

"Alright", He conceded, but only for the time being, "Fine."

"Thank you", Michonne seemed only a little relieved, "...I forgot about lunch. I'm sorry."

"It's alright", He stroked his thumb up and down the back of her hand as enticed her to come closer, "...Can't say that I blame you"

"We can still get lunch? That's if I haven't...ruined the mood"

He sighed as he asked, "How about we start over?"

Michonne followed his lead but her anticipation for his next move was clear in her eyes; she matched his soft tone, "Start over?"

"Yeah", He wanted to feel her melt against him again, "Hey"

She let him seduce her right into his arms, "...Hey"

The nerves in Rick's body began to dance. He wanted to leave the world on the other side of her office door and be with her uninterrupted, if only for a little while. His lips found hers in a matter of seconds and he eagerly tightened his hold on her. She tasted even sweeter every single time he kissed her, and she even melted against him just the way he wanted; with her hands on his neck and his fingers at his nape.

He got so swept away that he didn't understand why she gasped and broke the kiss. She peered downward and said, "Oh, is that your..."

Rick froze, hoping he hadn't gotten too carried away when he realized it was his cell phone that was causing a disturbance. He breathed a sigh of relief as he retrieved it from his pocket; it was Theodore. Michonne could obviously tell from the look on his face that it was was an important call so she slipped out of his reach while he answered, "Yeah?"

"Hey, man", Theodore greeted cautiously, "We're still over here, almost finished up though"

"Yeah? So what's the damage?", Rick watched Michonne crouch down to pick up the remaining sheets of paper that were still on the floor.

"...It's pretty bad", Theodore explained regretfully, "I think a couple of teenagers might have ran through here being assholes; there was silly string and spray paint everywhere¬ and a couple other headstones were knocked over, too. We made a note of everything and we're gonna' put up some signs for the families to contact us"

Rick drug his hand over his face as turned away from Michonne's view, "...Alright. I'm gonna' have to come down there"

"I got it, man. Bert said he'll lock the place up until we figure out what we're gonna' do about it"

"Yeah, but still…", Rick felt foolish for thinking that he could hide from his problems in Michonne's office, "Thanks, anyway. Are you heading back to the department?"

"Nah, I was gonna' say I can meet you over at the Diner in a little while?"

"Uh, how about you get Leon and head over there. I'll try to catch up with you guys¬ I've gotta see the commissioner about somethan' so I'm over at the D.A's office...", He kept his head low as he shamefully lied.

"Yeah? Alright then, man"

"Bye", Rick hung up the call and set his hands at his sides for a moment as he mulled over Theodore's news, but he was brought away from his thoughts when he heard Michonne move behind him; he turned to look at her, "Sorry about that"

She had placed herself behind her desk and peered at him with curious eyes, "It's okay. Is everything alright?"

He nodded his head as he stepped aimlessly, "Yeah, just… Work stuff"

"Oh?"

He placed himself on the other side of her desk and slid his hands in his pockets. Even though she didn't say anything further, there was something about the look on her face made him feel like she was expecting him to explain further, asking the question with her eyes. He took a deep breath, "...Carl's mother's grave was vandalized"

Her sleek eyebrows sprung up, "Vandalised?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen it¬ that was my partner, Theodore…", He cleared his throat when he felt himself getting uncomfortable, "He checked it out and thinks some teenagers ran through there… it was random. Her's wasn't the only one"

Michonne stuck one hand on her hip, "Are you going down there?"

Rick's mouth hung open for a short while, "...I will. Not right this moment, but… I will have to sometime soon"

Confusion flashed across Michonne's face before she asked him, "...Have you _ever_ gone down there?"

He had to dig deep to find the courage to answer, "No. I haven't"

Her hand dropped from her hip, "Never?"

Rick shook his head as he lowered his gaze, "Never."

The room fell deathly quiet. Michonne stared at him with an expression that was difficult for Rick to read. He knew his confession would be hard for a logical person to understand but he didn't think it would stun her into silence. She slowly crossed her arms over her chest as she asked him, "Why not?"

Even the people closest to Rick had never dared to ask him such a question; They accepted his reason with no explanation, so he wasn't used to providing an answer out loud. After some brief soul searching, he replied, "...Because I guess I haven't forgiven her yet"

She slowly nodded her head as she let her gaze cascade down his torso, "...I understand"

He huffed, "You do?"

"I do", She said simply.

Rick used his fingers to comb his hair back as he said, "...I came over here ask if we could possibly reschedule. I didn't wanna' put a downer your lunch with all the stuff I got going on"

Michonne had a thoughtful expression on her face as she said, "I think it's fair to say that we both have a lot of stuff going on right now"

She was right, even if she was trying to keep him in the dark about her marriage. He had seen enough for himself. He slowly nodded his head, "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"...I usually am", A hint of a mischievous smile appeared on her face, "...I'm still up for lunch if you are? I think we could both use one of those extra strong drinks that you like"

Rick didn't think it was fair for her to ask; he didn't think he could ever look into her glittering brown eyes and use the word 'no' for any reason at all. Even in his strange mood, and against his earlier intentions, he agreed, "Alright."

His upcoming battle with Lori hung over him like a dark cloud, but it didn't seem that daunting when he was with Michonne. She caught his eye when they were in the elevator after their fingers brushed against each other. They were far from alone, but he sure felt as though were when he looked at her. They left the building silently, stealing glances at each other when they could. Soon enough, Rick was glad that he hadn't rescheduled their plans; her presence was keeping him from noticing that dark cloud.

It was when they were outside of his vehicle that he caught a glance at something peculiar. He continued to do what he was doing; getting in the driver seat and putting on his seatbelt while Michonne did the same on the passanger side, but when he adjusted his mirror he took the opportunity to check and see if what he saw was correct, and it was.

Oscar was stood across the street, leaning against a post and staring in their direction. Rick didn't know if that was something he had always done or whether it was because of Rick; either way, Rick wasn't amused.

"Ann's Diner?", Michonne's question caught his attention again.

He dropped his hand from the mirror and looked at her; Oscar wasn't the only one with growing suspicions; He knew a red flag when he saw one, and seeing Oscar waiting outside his wife's building was the biggest one of all. Rick nodded his head, "Yeah. Ann's Diner"

Concern flashed across her face, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah", He reached for her hand with one of his, "Are you?"

"Yeah", Her slender fingers curled around his, "I'm fine"

He inhaled deeply as he discreetly glanced at the windscreen mirror again; Oscar was still there, but no longer leaning against the post. Something had spurred him to stand up straight with his arms crossed over his chest. Rick turned the key in the ignition and started the vehicle as he thought to himself, _Yeah I'm watching you, too._


End file.
